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BENSON COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA, TO CHANGE ITS METHOD

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A northeast North Dakota county today agreed to change the way it elects its governing body in order to resolve allegations that its current system discriminates against Native American voters, under an agreement reached with the Justice Department.

The agreement, submitted along with a complaint in U.S. District Court in Fargo, resolves allegations that the at-large method used to elect the Board of Commissioners in Benson County violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it dilutes the voting strength of minorities. As a result of today's agreement with the Justice Department, the Benson County Commission will return to a single-member district method of election by the June 2000 primary.

"The Voting Rights Act guarantees that all citizens have the right to fully participate in the democratic process," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We hope today's settlement will help bring down the barriers preventing Benson County's Native American citizens from having an equal opportunity to elect a representative to the Board of Commissioners."

In conducting an investigation, the Department determined that the county elected its first Native American county commissioner in 1988 under a single member district plan, but failed to re-elect her in 1992 after the commission changed to an at-large method of election. Although Native Americans make up more than 38% of the total population of Benson County, Native American voters have been unable to elect a representative of choice since this change in the method of election in 1992. As a result of its investigation, the Department concluded that the method of electing the Benson County commissioners was a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

After informing the county of these findings, the Justice Department engaged in several months of negotiations with county officials which led to today's agreement. The plan embodied in today's agreement has been approved by the County Commissioners and returns the county to single-member district voting.

Under the agreement, the 2000 elections will include two of the five Benson County Commissioner Districts, District 2 and District 4. The current boundaries for the two residency districts will serve as the single member districts boundaries, and only those persons residing within those districts will vote. One of those districts is majority-Native American in population. The agreement also requires the county to create a new five-member district plan that will include two majority Native American districts after the 2000 Census data is released next year.

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