Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe — Voting Rights Act (ND)

In February 2022, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Tribe, and three Native American voters filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging North Dakota’s state legislative districts that Gov. Doug Burgum signed into law in 2021. The plaintiffs argued that the new districts violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) by diluting the voting power of Native Americans in the state.

The case went to trial in June 2023. That November, a federal judge ruled that the districts discriminated against Native American voters and ordered the state legislature to replace the map with one that was compliant with the VRA.

North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, arguing that the 2021 redistricting did not dilute the votes of Native Americans. Howe also argued that individual voters don’t have the right to sue the state under Section 2.

In May 2025, the appeals court ruled in Howe’s favor, deciding that private parties—as opposed to the U.S. attorney general—do not have the ability to sue to protect their Section 2 rights under federal law. (The Eighth Circuit is the only circuit court in the country to hold that private individuals cannot sue under Section 2.)

In July, following an emergency request by the tribes and voters, the U.S. Supreme Court paused the Eighth Circuit decision. In September, the tribes and voters asked the justices to hear the case on its merits.

On Oct. 6, 2025, a group of four former Republican governors—Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, Gov. Marc Racicot of Montana, and Gov. William F. Weld of Massachusetts—filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the ability of private individuals and groups to sue under Section 2 of the VRA is essential to protecting the right to vote and fair representation. The governors, represented by States United and the law firm Hogan Lovells, argue that Congress intended for private parties to be able to enforce Section 2, and that the appeals court decision barring such lawsuits goes against decades of VRA litigation.

The governors wrote that they “believe that ensuring fair representation is one of the central pillars of our democracy, and that private enforcement of Section 2 is essential to maintaining that pillar.”

They added, “In fact, every case that this Court has decided under the current text of Section 2 was brought by private plaintiffs.”

On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Louisiana v. Callais, ruling that Louisiana’s creation of a second majority-Black congressional district to correct a violation of Section 2 was unconstitutional. On May 18, the Supreme Court sent the Turtle Mountain case—concerning whether private individuals have the right to sue over violations of Section 2 of the VRA—back to the lower court “for further consideration in light of” Callais.

• Amicus brief (filed Oct. 6, 2025)
• Petition for a writ of certiorari (filed Sept. 2, 2025)

• North Dakota Monitor: North Dakota tribes officially ask US Supreme Court to review redistricting case (Sept. 3, 2025)
• The New York Times: Supreme Court, for Now, Pauses Lower Court Decision Limiting Voting Rights Act (July 24, 2025)