The Spirit Lake Nation and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals not to reinstate a North Dakota legislative map that they say dilutes the Native American vote.

Minot will give a new state law on absentee ballots its first run when it holds its mayoral race Aug. 5. “A lot of people are interested around the state to see how it goes,” Secretary of State Michael Howe said in Minot last week.

A new law is changing the way absentee ballots are counted, and this is being put to the test for the first time next month in Minot.