Heidi Heitkamp: Protect voting rights in Indian Country

Over the past year, a disintegration of voting rights has threatened Americans’ freedom across many states, and Native Americans are particularly affected. Despite vigorous debate earlier this month, Congress as a collective body did not pass the voting rights legislation – which would have ensured easier access to the polls. Native American voters and advocates must therefore rally at the ballot box this 2022 midterm election.

States passed 34 laws making it more difficult to vote in 2021 – more than any other year for at least a decade – and more than 440 bills with provisions that restrict voting access were introduced in 49 states across the country.

Native Americans have endured a long history of insidious voter suppression and continue to face substantial obstacles at every step in the electoral process. Voter ID laws are a particular challenge – many states and localities fail to recognize tribal identification cards as a method of voter validation. When North Dakota enacted its current ID law in 2017, a federal district court found that 19 percent of Native American residents lacked a qualifying ID compared to less than 12 percent of other potential voters. Further, many rural residents are far away from the nearest voting location, which poses a problem as restrictions on mail-in voting increase. A lack of equitable internet access among Native American households also reduces access to online voter registration and mail-in ballot requests.

Turnout among Native American voters will be consequential in determining some of the most competitive House and Senate races in the country this year. American Indian and Alaska Native voters had a massive influence in the last two election cycles and tend to vote in midterm congressional years at relatively high rates. A record-breaking number of Native American candidates ran for office in 2018, and high Native American voter turnout helped elect a record 6 Native Americans to Congress in 2020.

Read more: https://ndxplains.com/2022/01/26/heidi-heitkamp-protect-voting-rights-in-indian-country/