A federal judge will hold a hearing today in a suit that seeks to allow the use of tribal identification cards on election day.

The Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, the National Congress of American Indians and three Minnesota Indians filed the suit against the state. They say the state unfairly bars the use of tribal IDs for Indians who live off-reservation. Yet other types of governmental IDs are allowed for non-Indians, the suit says.

Bonnie Dorr-Charwood, a Mille Lacs Band member, lives in Minneapolis and plans to vote using her tribal ID, her only form of identification.

Minnesota is one of the target states for the Native Vote 2004 campaign. Tribal leaders say there are 33,000 eligible Indian voters in the state.

Get the Story:
Suit seeks broader use of Indian ID for voting (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 10/29)
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Relevant Links:
American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota - http://www.aclu-mn.org
National Congress of American Indians - http://www.ncai.org

Related Stories:
Minnesota targeted in Native Vote 2004 campaign (10/14)
County won't allow Indians to use tribal ID to register (10/06)