Supreme Court Orders Review of Native American Voting Rights Case

The Supreme Court on Monday sent a Voting Rights Act case involving Native American tribes back to lower courts for further review. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its ruling that only the federal government may sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The appeals court decision had conflicted with prior case law that allowed private lawsuits.

The case originated in North Dakota, where two Native American tribes challenged state legislative maps. The appeals court ruled against the tribes, prompting the Supreme Court to block enforcement of that decision in July while the case continued. An attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, Lenny Powell, said sending the case back was the right call and vowed to keep fighting to ensure Native voters can elect candidates of their choice.

The Supreme Court also returned a separate Mississippi voting map case to lower courts for reconsideration. That case involves three new majority-Black state legislative districts whose status may not be resolved until 2027. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from both orders.

The court's April decision in a Louisiana case had already narrowed the standard for proving Voting Rights Act violations by requiring evidence of intentional discrimination.