LINCOLN- A federal judge declined to approve a settlement of a voting rights lawsuit involving the Omaha and Winnebago tribes, saying a recent appeals court ruling has potentially “thrown a wrench into the works.” The two tribes had recently reached a tentative settlement with the Thurston County Board to redraw the voting districts for the seven-member governing board.

The tribe sued the county this year, alleging that the seven-county supervisor districts drawn up by the county violated the federal Voting Rights Act by effectively denying Native Americans, who make up a majority of the voting-age population in Thurston County, a majority of the seats on the board.

U.S. District Judge Richard Rossiter Jr. said he could not approve the out-of-court settlement until he heard from the parties’ attorneys about whether the deal was impacted by a recent ruling from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In that ruling, the Appeals Court ruled that Congress did not give “private plaintiffs” the ability to sue to enforce voting rights. Supplemental briefs are to be submitted by Dec. 27.

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