Indian voting case proceeds

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge is allowing a voting rights lawsuit from members of three American Indian tribes in Montana to go forward after the defendants sought to dismiss the case.

Members of the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap tribes want county officials to set up satellite voting offices to make up for the long distances they must drive to reach courthouses for early voting or late registration.

Judge Donald Molloy said in a Wednesday ruling that the plaintiffs’ claims of discrimination are plausible enough that the case should proceed.

Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch and officials from Blaine, Rosebud and Big Horn Counties are named as defendants.

Attorneys for the state argued McCulloch shouldn’t be included because satellite voting decisions are up to counties. Molloy disagreed.