Native American voting rights case over ID law to proceed

A voting rights case over North Dakota’s photo ID law will proceed.

A federal judge has denied a motion to dismiss from Secretary of State Al Jaeger, the defendant in the case.

The Spirit Lake Tribe, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and some individual tribal members filed the lawsuit the week before the 2018 election.

They said because of some of the issues with getting addresses on the reservation, the law made it harder for Native Americans to vote.

In his ruling, District Court Judge Daniel Hovland agreed, saying the tribes have had to use significant resources to make sure tribal members can vote.

Hovland says the law also places some burden on the individual plaintiffs.

He also said Jaeger failed to dispute the plaintiff's claim there was intentional discrimination against Native Americans on the part of the legislature.