US Attorneys and Indian Country Voting Rights

I've previously written about the connection between the US Attorney firing scandals and Indian Country, focusing on former USA for the W.D. Mich., Margaret Chiara. Four of the eight fired USAs were located in districts featuring extensive Indian Country territories. One or more USAs were targeted for allegedly spending too much time prosecuting cases in Indian Country or working on tribal issues.

Indianz.com has been expanding the scope of the connection by reporting the possibility that former D. Minn. USA Tom Heffelfinger was listed for termination because he apparently questioned a state law that forbade the use of tribal IDs at voting places.

This adds a new wrinkle to the connection to Indian Country -- voting. Jack Balkin blogged that perhaps the biggest issue for the Bush II administration's decision to replace several USAs was voting rights. I think few people know how many counties in Indian Country are still in violation of the Voting Rights Act. See here and here and here.