The Chippewa Cree Tribe and two tribal citizens have filed a federal lawsuit against Chouteau County, arguing the countys at-large system for electing commissioners unlawfully dilutes Native votes and has left them without representation. The lawsuit is backed by the Native American Rights Fund, the American Civil Liberties Unions Voting Rights Project, and the ACLU of Montana.

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Filed August 14th in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, the complaint says Native voters, who make up about one-third of Chouteau Countys voting-age population, have consistently been unable to elect a commissioner of their choice. All three current commissioners have been elected and re-elected under the countys at-large system for at least a decade.

Under the at-lar

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