Fremont Co. scrambles to address voting system

RIVERTON, Wyo. (AP) – Fremont County officials are trying to figure out how to handle county commissioner elections this year in light of a federal court ruling that blocked the county's election system.

U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson ruled last week that Fremont County must stop using an at-large voting system and create a single-member district voting system. He said the at-large system dilutes the American Indian vote and violates the Voting Rights Act.

The court set a June 30 deadline for Fremont County to submit its plan for commission districts. It also set a hearing on the issue for Aug. 13, just four days before the primary election is scheduled to take place.

“It puts the whole process in chaos,” commissioner Dennis Heckart said. “As a potential candidate, I don't know what I'm signing up for, where I'm campaigning, who I'm representing. So the timing couldn't possibly be worse as far as helping our local election process.”

Atlanta lawyer Laughlin McDonald, who heads the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, represented the plaintiffs in the case – five members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes who sued Fremont County in 2005.

The plaintiffs have already developed a plan to create five voting districts in the county, with one encompassing the reservation, he said.

McDonald said the court could decide to alter the election schedule this year.

The county “could come up with a plan sooner and we could comment on it a lot sooner,” McDonald said. “But in any event the court is going to hold this hearing on August 13, and it has the power to implement a plan and schedule for the upcoming election.”

Doug Thompson, chairman of the Fremont County commission, said the judge's decision was not unexpected because of the “way the trial went and the federal government's attitude of paternalism” concerning American Indians.

Thompson was elected two years ago to a four-year term, raising the question of what happens to him and other commissioners in the same position.

“What do we do? Do we lose the last two years of our term, or do we have to file?” Thompson said Friday. “There's a lot of questions, and we'll have to have a conference call or meeting with the attorneys to look at all of the possibilities.”

Keja Whiteman, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, was elected a Fremont County commissioner in 2006 in an at-large election. She said she was disappointed the county has such a short time to develop an election process, but not disappointed with the outcome of the case.

“I think it will bring maybe a new dynamic to the commission that can promote positive working relationships with people across the county,” she said.

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Information from: The (Riverton) Ranger,
http://www.dailyranger.com