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After Tribes voiced gerrymander concerns, Thurston County, Neb. Board made its bad map even worse
Tribes and Voters Sue Nebraska County to Secure Equal Representationhttps://narf.org/thurston-nebraska-redistricting/
January 19, 2023
Despite Native Americans comprising nearly 60% of the total population of Thurston County, officials adopted districts that discriminated against the Native vote.
On January 19, 2023, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Big Fire Law and Policy Group, filed a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska on behalf of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, and individual tribal members against Thurston County and elected county officials for adopting county supervisor districts that intentionally dilute the Native vote and do not comply with federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) protections. Native American people comprise nearly 60% of the total population of Thurston County and a majority of voting-age residents. If the case is successful, it will be the third time Thurston County’s Board of Supervisor redistricting plans have been found to violate the VRA by discriminating against Native American voters.
“To comply with the VRA, the elected officials responsible were required to create four effective districts that would allow the Native American voters to elect the candidate of their choice, and instead the Thurston County Board of Supervisors created only three. This is the third time tribal members in Thurston County have had to sue the county based on its discriminatory redistricting maps; and this will be the third time a federal court will strike down the county’s map,” said plaintiff and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Chairwoman Victoria Kitcheyan.
SNIP
“Native Americans now make up a majority of the voting-age population in Thurston County. Instead of following the law to provide four of the seven districts with effective Native American voter majorities, the board rigged the district map in a way to reduce Native American representation into the minority,” said plaintiff and Tribal Secretary of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Cheyenne Robinson.
SNIP
“Not only did the Thurston County Board of Supervisors reject the VRA-compliant map shared by the Winnebago Tribe and the Omaha Tribe, but once the Tribes made their concerns known, the Board decided to make its bad map even worse, by reducing the number of Native Americans in Districts 3 and 5. This is a slap in the face to the Tribes and tribal members in the county, and shows another example of discrimination on the part of the county against tribal members,” said plaintiff and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Vice-Chairman Brian Chamberlain.
SNIP
“To comply with the VRA, the elected officials responsible were required to create four effective districts that would allow the Native American voters to elect the candidate of their choice, and instead the Thurston County Board of Supervisors created only three. This is the third time tribal members in Thurston County have had to sue the county based on its discriminatory redistricting maps; and this will be the third time a federal court will strike down the county’s map,” said plaintiff and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Chairwoman Victoria Kitcheyan.
SNIP
“Native Americans now make up a majority of the voting-age population in Thurston County. Instead of following the law to provide four of the seven districts with effective Native American voter majorities, the board rigged the district map in a way to reduce Native American representation into the minority,” said plaintiff and Tribal Secretary of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska Cheyenne Robinson.
SNIP
“Not only did the Thurston County Board of Supervisors reject the VRA-compliant map shared by the Winnebago Tribe and the Omaha Tribe, but once the Tribes made their concerns known, the Board decided to make its bad map even worse, by reducing the number of Native Americans in Districts 3 and 5. This is a slap in the face to the Tribes and tribal members in the county, and shows another example of discrimination on the part of the county against tribal members,” said plaintiff and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Vice-Chairman Brian Chamberlain.
SNIP
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Bold type added in last paragraph to emphasize the cruelty of the Board.
