Alfred Bone Shirt; Belva Black Lance; Bonni High Bull; Germaine Moves Camp, Appellees, v. Joyce Hazeltine, in her official capacity as Secretary of State of the State of South Dakota; Scott Eccarius, in his official capacity as Speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives; South Dakota House of Representatives; Arnold Brown, in his official capacity as President of the South Dakota Senate; South Dakota Senate, Appellants.
No. 05-4010
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
461 F.3d 1011; 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 21409
June 12, 2006, Submitted
August 22, 2006, Filed
Appellee Native American voters sued appellant state legislators, alleging that the legislators violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Act) by legislative redistricting which diluted the voting power of Native Americans. The legislators appealed the judgment of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota which held that the legislators violated the Act and imposed a remedial redistricting plan.
The voters contended that the legislators' redistricting plan placed a substantial majority of Native Americans in one district, thus diluting Native American voting strength in an adjoining district. The legislators argued that the redistricting plan was reasonable, that the remedial plan was improperly based on race, and that the voters failed to show racially polarized voting. The appellate court held that the legislators' plan violated the Act and that the voters' remedial plan, as adopted by the district court, was an appropriate remedy. The voters established that Native Americans were sufficiently numerous and geographically compact to constitute a majority in two districts, and the borders of the proposed districts were not based solely on race since they were compact and respected traditional boundaries. Further, the voters established by reliable expert regression analysis that the current districts resulted in white blocs of voters defeating candidates who carried a majority of the Native American vote. Also, the remedial plan assured Native American voters the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice and meaningful participation in the political process.
The judgment finding a violation of the Act and imposing a remedial plan was affirmed.