Native Americans fear a Supreme Court ruling on Arizona’s voting law will create barriers

[ad_1]

Allie Young, founder of Protect The Sacred, said Friday the court ruling would be a setback after organizers worked hard to register and assist the many Native Americans last year who did not vote in the previous election.

“It’s very disappointing,” Young said. “I’m concerned that we’ve built so much momentum around making our voices heard that it will only dampen our resolve.”

President Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win the presidential race in Arizona since Bill Clinton in 1996. His 49 percent vote was the largest for any Democrat in the state since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. (Biden by about 4 points) and the Arizona vote (Biden) 0.3 points) is the Democrat’s best since 1948 when Harry Truman won.

The Navajo Nation is largely credited with helping Biden reliably win the Red State. Nearly 75% of Native Arizona residents voted for Biden, according to an analysis by the Arizona Republic. Maricopa County, where many of the state’s tribal communities are located, was key to Biden’s victory.

The rulings upheld by the Supreme Court state that personal ballots cast in the wrong district on Election Day must be completely eliminated and that only family caregivers, postal companies and election officials can deliver someone else’s ballot to the polling place.

Judge Samuel Alito, who provided the majority opinion, said the rulings are necessary to prevent fraud.

“Fraud can affect the outcome of a tight election, and fraudulent votes impair the right of citizens to cast votes of appropriate importance,” Alito wrote, adding that fraud can also “undermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of the election and the perceived legitimacy of the declared result.”

But Young said the provisions would eliminate voting options that many Native Americans used in 2020.

For example, some reservations and tribal communities are located up to 20 miles from designated polling places or drop boxes and not everyone has transportation or residential mail service. Young said that many of these residents rely on organizers who come into their communities to collect and hand out ballots. She added that Native Americans also benefited from being able to cast their vote in the place most convenient for them.

Native Democrats in northeastern Arizona said in a tweet that the Supreme Court ruling was “disappointing.” But the organization said the original organizers would be “decisive in defeating voter suppression tactics from the ground up and supporting democracy”. “The Supreme Court had an opportunity to protect our right to vote at a critical moment in our history, but decided instead to allow discriminatory voting. Policies in Arizona are making it difficult for indigenous, black, and brown communities to vote,” the Native Democrats of Northeastern Arizona wrote.

Young said she would not let the court ruling deter her regulatory efforts. She plans to start early, work harder and continue her “ride to the polls” program to ensure Native American participation in the midterm elections.

“They are afraid of our strength, and they see that we have the strength in number,” Young said. “We appear and we will not be invisible or silent.”

.

[ad_2]