Lawsuit Filed Against Beltrami County Redistricting Plan

Beltrami County’s redistricting plan is headed to court.

County Commissioner Jim Lucachick and 30 other people have field a suit alleging the commissioners did not follow guidelines set in state statue when they approved the redistricting map on a 3-2 vote.

The complaint, which was filed on Monday in Ninth Judicial District Court, calls for county commissioners to revise the redistricting plan to meet state and county guidelines. The suit alleges among other things that the county board failed to comply with:

the mandatory obligation that each district “shall be as nearly equal in population as possible,”

the mandatory obligation that each district shall “be as regular and compact in form as practicable,”

the county board’s own direction to “make minimal changes,”

and the county board’s direction to “not gerrymander.”

The suit also contends the board adopted the plan with minimal public input and minimal or no debate from the three commissioners who voted for the plan.

On April 19, District 2 Commissioner Reed Olson, District 3 Commissioner Richard Anderson, and District 4 Commissioner Tim Sumner voted in favor of the map, while District 1 Commissioner Craig Gaasvig and District 5 Commissioner Jim Lucachick voted against it.

No court date has been scheduled in the case.

https://lptv.org/lawsuit-filed-against-beltrami-county-redistricting-plan/