Listen: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/americandemocracyminute/episodes/2022-06-05T08_13_42-07_00
Today’s Links:
Articles: Court Rules That South Dakota Failed To Offer Adequate Voter Registration, Litigation: SD Voter Registration, South Dakota ruled noncompliant with federal voter law, The Federal Court’s Ruling
Ways to get involved: Native American Rights Fund, Four Directions
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
A partial ruling on an important voting rights case was announced last week, finding the State of South Dakota in violation of the National Voter Registration Act. The U.S. District Court found that the state had multiple violations, among them the inadequate implementation of voter registration locations which particularly affected tribal areas.
In September 2020, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, a voting rights organization and individual voters sued the state and its election officials arguing the state didn’t offer voter registration options at motor vehicle agencies or state-run public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act.
Jacqueline De León, a staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, said in a statement, “We documented Native American residents routinely being underserved by the state of South Dakota when it came to voter registration. Native Americans are not being offered the voter registration opportunities they are entitled to under law. We told the state that there was a problem, but they did not fix it. Apparently they did not see the disenfranchisement of Native voters and the silencing of Native voices as an important issue. We do.”
The federal judge agreed, ruling that the state did not offer voter registration at some motor vehicle and public assistance locations as required by the federal law, and hadn’t properly trained employees. Several other parts of the suit are still in litigation.
There’s more on this lawsuit and a link to the Native American Rights Fund and voting rights group Four Directions at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.
