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Supreme Court sends Native American voters lawsuit back to lower court.WASHINGTON — The U.S.Supreme Court says an appeals court must reconsider its decision in a voting rights case that impacted Native Americans in North Dakota.The order issued Monday, May 18, vacated a U.S.8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the Spirit Lake Nation and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.The Campaign Legal Center, which represented the tribes and voters in the case, praised the ruling as overturning an “erroneous decision.” ADVERTISEMENT “Today, the Supreme Court agreed that courts cannot slam the courthouse doors on plaintiffs seeking equal representation,” said Mark Gaber, senior director for redistricting at the center.“We will keep fighting to defend the rights of Native American voters.” The Supreme Court ruling comes nearly three years after a federal judge in North Dakota said the state Legislature drew a 2021 legislative district map that diluted the Native American vote and violated the Voting Rights Act.Through the Secretary of State's Office, North Dakota appealed the ruling to the 8th Circuit.In a 2-1 ruling, the appeals court struck down the lower court’s ruling in May 2025, saying that only the Department of Justice, not voters or private parties, can bring forth a Voting Rights Act lawsuit.The Campaign Legal Center, which worked on the case with the law offices of Bryan Sells and Robins Kaplan, filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.Attorneys for the tribe said the appeals court ruling went against precedent across the country.The Supreme Court halted the appeals court's decision last year, meaning state officials will use a map adopted by the federal court for the 2026 election.The highest court in the country did not take oral arguments in the case, but Monday’s order said the lawsuit will be remanded to the Supreme Court “for further consideration in light of Louisiana v.Callais.” In that case, the Supreme Court said the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to draw a second majority-Black congressional district.The 6-3 opinion declared the state’s 2024 redistricting map "an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.” In Monday’s order for the North Dakota case, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the Supreme Court didn’t address who could file a Voting Rights lawsuit.In dissenting remarks, Jackson said she would “summarily reverse” the appeals court’s ruling.ADVERTISEMENT The Forum has reached out to the Secretary of State's Office for comment.