Legislative Council staff told Legislative Management on June 26 that a May 14 Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe removed a private right of action to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in that case and vacated the district court’s redistricting remedy.

Austin Gunderson, legislative council staff, explained that the panel’s judgment remands the case to the district court with instructions to dismiss for lack of a private cause of action, which—if the ruling becomes final—would mean the district boundaries would revert to the lines drawn and approved by the Legislative Assembly during the 2021 special session. "The eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the judgment of the United States District Court, which imposed the plaintiff's redistricting map and remanded with instructions for the district court to dismiss the case for want of cause of action," Gunderson said.

Gunderson walked members through the remaining procedural steps: the appellees filed a petition for rehearing en banc on May 18; the Eighth Circuit has not decided whether to rehear the case, and if rehearing is denied the court must issue its mandate seven days later. If the mandate issues and the judgment becomes final, parties then have a 90-day window to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court via certiorari. Gunderson cautioned that the mandate has not issued and the judgment is not yet final while the petition for rehearing is pending.

Committee members asked practical questions about member qualifications and district representation if the 2021 lines become operative. Gunderson noted historical practice: when a redistricting change leaves an incumbent outside the district, that member historically has been allowed to serve until the next general election, though the legal question is unresolved and could ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court. Members also discussed timelines for candidate filing and possible reorganizations of party structures in affected districts should the ruling become final.

Gunderson recommended monitoring the Eighth Circuit’s decision on rehearing, and Legislative Management agreed to keep the issue on its radar while appeals proceed.