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Citizens of Todd, Shannon and Washabaugh Counties will be allowed to vote for county officials in the next primary and general elections. The decision was handed down this week by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. Ms. Anita Remerowski of South Dakota Legal Services, Mission, argued the case. The class action suit was brought before Federal District Court Judge Andrew Bogue late last October in Rapid City by S. D. Legal Services attorneys Terry Pechota and Arthur Bunce on behalf of Jake Little Thunder, Madeline Red Willow, Betty Brave Heart, Karen Conroy, Mary Jane Gabriel and Spencer Bear Heels, residents of the three unorganized South Dakota coun ties. Todd, Shannon and Washa baugh. The suit was brought against the State of South Dakota and the county commissioners and county auditors of Tripp, Fall River and Jackson Counties, to which the three unorganized counties are attached for pur poses of government and admin istration. The complaint contended that South Dakota law prevented them from voting for county government officials (county commissioners, clerks of court, registers of deeds, auditors, treasurers, sheriffs, coroners and attorneys) who govern them, that is, a form of taxation without representation. The decision stated that there is no compelling state interest justifying the denial of plaintiffs right to vote for their governing officials. The fact that plaintiffs are reservation Indians is not of great significance, the appellate court said. While it is true that Todd, Shannon and Washabaugh Counties lie within Indian reser vations and that the state has limited jurisdiction over them, the effects of county government are not completely absent. Both Indians and non-Indians pay taxes on deeded land and the tax rate is fixed by the county commissioners. A deputy sheriff is appointed by the county sheriff to keep the peace in unorganized counties. Indians and non-Indi ans living within the reservation record deeds and file documents just the same as anyone else and the higher court felt that officials of the organized counties exer cise substantial power over the affairs of individuals living in unorganized counties. The state argued that the statute was constitutional be cause the plaintiffs could organ ize their counties and thereby acquire the right to vote for their officers. However, the court held that “the likelihood of Indians living on the reservation consist ing of trust lands meeting the freeholding requirements (one half of the voters must be freeholders or bona fide entry men under the homestead laws) in order to become an organized county is nil. As the plaintiffs point out, requiring them to form organized counties before being eligible to vote is tantamount to the prohibited requirement that they be property owners.’ South Dakota Legal Services director Terry Pechota said in Mission Monday that ‘‘it would seem to follow from this decision that Todd, Shannon and Washa baugh County voters would be allowed to run for county office” though he acknowledged that this decision lends no legal impact to the prospect.
Newspaper Details
Mission Todd County Tribune
Mission, South Dakota, US
Thu, Jul 03, 1975
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Richmond C.
USA 10 Dec 2025
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Mission Todd County Tribune
