BISMARCK, N.D. - As redistricting takes shape in North Dakota, lawmakers are pressured to give tribal communities a fair shake in the process. Those trying to establish more inclusion say the impact of previous maps still is being felt, and worry it will happen again.

When state leaders redraw political boundaries after each census, they're required to ensure districts have equal populations so representation is fair. But Cheryl Kary, executive director of the Sacred Pipe Resource Center in Mandan, said reservations have been gerrymandered many times.

She said a number of tribal nations feel they don't have elected officials who are aligned with their concerns.

"On Fort Berthold, for example, there's quite a few tribal members that are very concerned about the environmental degradation of fracking," said Kary. "And the representative that represents the area voted completely contrary to any concerns that they had."

Activists point to North Dakota electing state representatives through at-large seats as opposed to single member districts as part of the issue. They say the maps dilute the voting power of tribal nations, while deterring community members from seeking office.

Rep. Bill Devlin - R-Finley - who is poised to sit on the redistricting panel, says he's open to hearing these concerns, but says delays in getting census numbers could limit chances for additional meetings with tribes.

Samantha Kelty is a staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, which is assisting North Dakota activists in accessible redistricting. Aside from hearings on reservations, she said she wants the state to adopt more criteria, including communities of interest.

"For example, when its members may live within a 30 mile radius outside of the reservation - that may be a community of interest," said Kelty. "Or, there may be a nearby town that, while it doesn't consist of Native Americans, they may share some of the same cultural beliefs."

As for census numbers, which are used as a guiding tool in redistricting, Kary said it underscores the need for inclusion because last year's outreach for counting Indigenous residents was severely impacted by the pandemic.

"I do think there was likely an undercount, typcially there is," said Kary. "But I think in the pandemic, that created some additional barriers."

She said she worries that a larger-than-usual undercount will hurt tribal nations even more when the maps are redrawn.

Next week, members of the redistricting committee are likely to be selected. Because Republicans control the Legislature, they will oversee much of the process.

The maps will be voted on later in the year.

Local candidates that signed onto a no-corporate-money pledge made midterm election gains in Charleston.

Katie Lauer, co-chair of West Virginia Can't Wait, said the organization now has two dozen bipartisan elected officials - including Republicans, Democrats and independents in public office across the state. She said the wins signal Mountain State voters are paying less attention to politics and more on the issues affecting their lives.

"Our goal for this cycle was to double that number to get 22 elected officials into office, and we not only met that goal, but surpassed it. So we now have 24 elected officials across the state," Lauer said. Some are on city council, some are on school boards, some are on county commissions."

Around 35% of voters statewide went to the polls for the midterms, according to a U.S. Elections Project Analysis.

She said Charleston's officials are focused on decriminalizing cannabis, instituting harm-reduction programs for substance use, addressing trauma among youths and families, and increasing minimum-wage and paid sick days for workers.


"And the question we're asking is, are there things that we can do right here at home that address the problems right in our backyard?," she said. "And who from whatever party wants to come to the table and help solve those problems?"

West Virginia Can't Wait was founded in late 2018 and ran its first slate of candidates in 2020.

The holidays can be stressful, and our deeply divided political times can make it harder to see family. But efforts across the country are happening to bridge the gap in our differences. One such effort is from the organization Braver Angels, a national nonprofit that holds events in Washington and other states.

Bill Doherty, Braver Angels co-founder, has advice for people who may be sitting down at the Thanksgiving table with family members of different political leanings. He said folks should not try to enlighten them or make them change.

"Let people be. That's number one. And number two, when somebody differs from you, try to practice curiosity rather than convincing them," Doherty said.

Braver Angels' next event in Washington state is on November 29 at the Spokane Public Library. The nonprofit is holding an in-person workshop on communication skills for bridging our political divides.

Along with helping found the organization, Doherty also designed its workshops, which bring together so-called "reds" and "blues," or people on the right and the left. He said when face to face, folks find they're not so different.

"They get past stereotypes, they see common ground -- because it's almost always there in some way -- and they come out having lowered their hostility meter, if you will, towards people who differ from them politically," he said.

John Wood Junior, a national ambassador for Braver Angels, said when it comes to political divisions, things likely have to get worse before they get better. But Wood also noted there's momentum behind depolarization, as evidenced by his organization and many others that are working to build bridges in our society.

"There's serious movement in a constructive direction towards repairing these divides," he said, "and so that's going to bear fruit in a visible way as well in the years and even the months to come."


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On the heels of the midterm election, state officials say they are now focused on improving voters' experience at polling locations.

No Ohio counties reported significant problems with the voting process on Tuesday, but a few polling locations were plagued by equipment issues and longer-than-expected wait times because of higher-than-average turnout.

Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, said he plans to work with county boards of elections to assess what can be done to mitigate issues and upgrade in-person voting next time around.

"We're going to be working with county boards of elections on things like the allocation of voting machines," LaRose pointed out. "But also the layout and the design of a polling location to get better throughput so that voter experience is much more convenient."

Across eighty-eight counties, workers continue to process absentee and provisional ballots. LaRose explained results are unofficial until they are certified, and noted the official canvass will be completed in the coming weeks.

LaRose emphasized the numbers show more Ohioans are utilizing early and absentee voting.

"Having this record-breaking number of early and absentee votes is really just validation that Ohioans like the choices," LaRose asserted. "And they realize that they're both secure and convenient."

He added his office's misinformation team, which began its work in 2019, worked to combat false information on social media, so voters were not tricked into going to different polling locations or mislead in other ways about the voting process.

"It's like whack-a-mole, right, going after individual instances of false information," LaRose acknowledged. "But we try to identify the ones that are likely to catch on and spread like wildfire."

The state's misinformation team will be back in full force for the next election. Ohioans head to the polls again in 2024, the nation's next presidential election.

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.