White v. Blaine County

(Filed: Nov. 4, 2026)

Three voters are challenging the Blaine County commissioner district map for violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s one-person, one-vote rule. The map distributes population unequally between three districts and dilutes the votes of Native American Montanans.

In Blaine County, Montana, voters elect three commissioners from separate districts. Under the existing district map, the population variations between the three districts exceed constitutional limits. The County’s most populous district, District 1, is predominantly Native American and contains nearly 700 more residents than the County’s smallest district. Districts with more voters must distribute the power to elect an official across more people, which dilutes the relative power of residents in the more populous district compared to the smaller, less populous district.

This district map violates the U.S. Constitution’s one-person, one-vote rule, which requires that when voters elect officials to represent them in districted bodies, the districts must be roughly equal in population.

The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the current map unconstitutional, prohibit its use in 2028 and future elections, and require Blaine County to implement a plan that equalizes district populations.