Current:Home > InvestNative Americans in Montana ask court for more in-person voting sites-VaTradeCoin
Native Americans in Montana ask court for more in-person voting sites
lotradecoin app download and installation View Date:2024-12-25 23:39:18
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Native Americans living on a remote Montana reservation filed a lawsuit against state and county officials Monday saying they don’t have enough places to vote in person — the latest chapter in a decades-long struggle by tribes in the United States over equal voting opportunities.
The six members of the Fort Peck Reservation want satellite voting offices in their communities for late registration and to vote before Election Day without making long drives to a county courthouse.
The legal challenge, filed in state court, comes five weeks before the presidential election in a state with a a pivotal U.S. Senate race where the Republican candidate has made derogatory comments about Native Americans.
Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship a century ago. Advocates say the right still doesn’t always bring equal access to the ballot.
Many tribal members in rural western states live in far-flung communities with limited resources and transportation. That can make it hard to reach election offices, which in some cases are located off-reservation.
The plaintiffs in the Montana lawsuit reside in two small communities near the Canada border on the Fort Peck Reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. Plaintiffs’ attorney Cher Old Elk grew up in one of those communities, Frazer, Montana, where more than a third of people live below the poverty line and the per capita income is about $12,000, according to census data.
It’s a 60-mile round trip from Frazer to the election office at the courthouse in Glasgow. Old Elk says that can force prospective voters into difficult choices.
“It’s not just the gas money; it’s actually having a vehicle that runs,” she said. “Is it food on my table, or is it the gas money to find a vehicle, to find a ride, to go to Glasgow to vote?”
The lawsuit asks a state judge for an order forcing Valley and Roosevelt counties and Secretary of State Christi Jacobson to create satellite election offices in Frazer and Poplar, Montana. They would be open during the same hours and on the same days as the county courthouses.
The plaintiffs requested satellite election offices from the counties earlier this year, the lawsuit says. Roosevelt County officials refused, while Valley County officials said budget constraints limited them to opening a satellite voting center for just one day.
Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen said there were only two full-time employees in the Clerk and Recorder’s Office that oversees elections, so staffing a satellite office would be problematic.
“To do that for an extended period of time and still keep regular business going, it would be difficult,” he said.
Roosevelt County Clerk and Recorder Tracy Miranda and a spokesperson for Jacobson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Prior efforts to secure Native American voting rights helped drive changes in recent years that expanded electoral access for tribal members in South Dakota and Nevada.
A 2012 federal lawsuit in Montana sought to establish satellite election offices on the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap reservations. It was rejected by a judge, but the ruling was later set aside by an appeals court. In 2014, tribal members in the case reached a settlement with officials in several counties.
Monday’s lawsuit said inequities continue on the Fort Peck Reservation, and that tribal members have never fully achieved equal voting since Montana was first organized as a territory in 1864 and Native Americans were excluded from its elections. Native voters in subsequent years continued to face barriers to registering and were sometimes stricken from voter rolls.
“It’s unfortunate we had to take a very aggressive step, to take this to court, but the counties aren’t doing it. I don’t know any other way,” Old Elk said.
veryGood! (44121)
Related
- Taxpayers could get $500 'inflation refund' checks under New York proposal: What to know
- Parents share heartwarming stories of how Taylor Swift has inspired girls to watch the NFL
- Israeli intelligence docs detail alleged UNRWA staff links to Hamas, including 12 accused in Oct. 7 attack
- Shannen Doherty gives update, opens up about undergoing 'miracle' breast cancer treatment
- The burial site of the people Andrew Jackson enslaved was lost. The Hermitage says it is found
- Philadelphia police release video in corner store shooting that killed suspect, wounded officer
- Greyhound bus crash in Alabama: 1 killed, 9 others injured including bus driver
- Celine Dion to Debut Documentary Detailing Rare Stiff Person Syndrome Battle
- Luigi Mangione's Lawyer Speaks Out in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Case
- Wichita woman suspected in death of 14-year-old son is wounded by police after hours long standoff
Ranking
- Google forges ahead with its next generation of AI technology while fending off a breakup threat
- Where do the parties stand on efforts to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages?
- Think you might be lactose intolerant? What that means for your future diet.
- New Hampshire lawmakers consider multiple bills targeting transgender students and athletes
- Oregon lawmakers to hold special session on emergency wildfire funding
- At least 19 dead and 18 injured after bus collides with truck in northern Mexico
- Brothers indicted on 130 charges after NYPD recovers cache of weapons, 'hit list'
- Tom Brady merges 'TB12' and 'Brady' brands with sportswear company 'NoBull'
Recommendation
-
California judges say they’re underpaid, and their new lawsuit could cost taxpayers millions
-
Produce at the dollar store: Fruits and veggies now at 5,000 Dollar General locations, company says
-
Haiti pushes forward with new program to boost police department overwhelmed by gangs
-
TikToker Elyse Myers Shares 4-Month-Old Son Will Undergo Heart Surgery
-
Luigi Mangione's Lawyer Speaks Out in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Case
-
Water content of California’s snowpack is well below normal, but a new round of storms approaches
-
Man convicted in Door County bar fire that killed two people
-
Instant bond: Georgia girl with spina bifida meets adopted turtle with similar condition