BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit alleging that North Dakota's voter identification laws are unfair and unconstitutional.
The complaint was filed in January by seven members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. It alleges that the voter ID requirements violate the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
The plaintiffs say some tribal members can't afford the required identification.
The state said in its motion to dismiss that the plaintiffs failed to state a valid claim in the complaint. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland disagreed and said tribal members have properly outlined their claims with personal stories of each plaintiff and their experience with the state's voting laws.
North Dakota is the only state without voter registration, but state law has required voters to provide ID since 2004.