Time to close an ugly chapter of Native American voter suppression

Under the consent decree, North Dakota has promised that tribal IDs and tribally designated street addresses will be accepted at polling places. It also cements commitments by state officials to seek reimbursement of the tribes' expenses in producing voting IDs and to coordinate with the Department of Transportation to visit reservations before each election and provide state-issued IDs at no cost. One of its strongest protections, however, allows Native American voters who do not have (or do not know) their residential street address to locate their residence on a map at the polls or when applying for an absentee ballot — then be provided with their address by county officials and have their ballots counted. This is a sweeping victory for Native American voting rights, and one that should send a message to other states looking to impose restrictions that disenfranchise historically marginalized groups.

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