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Municipal Insurance Pools and Disenfranchisement in Indian Country
Author(s) -
Dietrich Joseph,
Schroedel Jean,
Mazareas Kara,
Lake Joseph
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12937
Subject(s) - plaintiff , voting , damages , dispose pattern , business , argument (complex analysis) , state (computer science) , law , economics , law and economics , political science , chemistry , biochemistry , algorithm , politics , computer science , programming language
Objective Our objective is to establish the impact of a litigation pattern used by defendants in voting rights cases in Indian Country which relies on municipal insurance pools and the barring of fee recovery. Methods We use history and case studies from four states to demonstrate the argument. Results Court is the only option for challenging disenfranchisement of voters, but cases require financial resources often unavailable to Native American plaintiffs. Defendants, typically state and local governments, do not face similar resource constraints as they participate in municipal insurance pools. Defendants, therefore, attempt to raise litigation costs to pressure plaintiffs to dispose of cases. If defendants think they will lose, they settle, preventing plaintiffs from recovering litigation costs or setting a precedent. This form of voting rights infringement discourages others from filing lawsuits as the financial impact can be devastating. Conclusion We conclude that the states provide a new arena to litigate voting rights cases.