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South Dakota county violates Native voting rights
Monday, October 31, 2005

A federal judge has ordered Charles Mix County in South Dakota to submit a new redistricting plan because the county's current system violates the voting rights of Native Americans.

The county is home to the Yankton Sioux Tribe. But no Native American has even been elected to the county commission, according to a lawsuit filed by members of the tribe.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol agreed that the county's system violates Native voting rights. She said the districts keep Native Americans a minority, preventing them from electing a candidate of their choice.

Piersol ordered the county to come up with a new map by November 14 or she will draw one on her own.

Get the Story:
Voting rights violated in South Dakota (Indian Country Today 10/31)

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