“The Federal Government is responsible for upholding the obligations to which the Federal Government has agreed through treaties, legislation, and executive orders, referred to as the Federal trust responsibility toward Indian Tribes and their members.”

— H.R. 5008 (The Native American Voting Rights Act)

It’s been less than 100 years since the Snyder Act granted full U.S. citizenship to Native Americans in 1924 giving them the right to vote… technically. This right was not guaranteed until the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. Today, Indigenous communities still face many systemic barriers to voting, which the Native American Voting Rights Act (NAVRA) claims range from “obstructing voter access” to “vote dilution and intentional malapportionment of electoral districts.” The act aims to counteract the disenfranchisement of Native voters with bold action to increase voter outreach, ensure accessibility and fight discrimination at the ballot box.

Lummi Nation tribal member Karen Scott drops her completed ballot into a ballot drop box on Oct. 19, 2020, on the Lummi Reservation, near Bellingham, Wash. . *(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)*

One of the biggest barriers to voting is as simple as physical access. During the 2020 elections, the Blackfeet Indian Reservation — which is approximately the size of Delaware — had only two election offices and four ballot drop-off locations. The consistent lack of insufficient polling infrastructure for Native voters becomes even more of an issue when alternative methods of voting, such as mail-in and community ballot collection, are regularly targeted. The NAVRA would ensure safeguards for mail-in voting in states where it is allowed, allow voters to designate another person to return their ballot, and greatly increase the number of polling locations, equipment and staff on Native land.

An illustration from an 1870 issue of *Harper’s Weekly* shows a police officer barring a Native man from the polling site. *Illustration from Library of Congress*

Another massive barrier is voter registration and identification. In 2012, 500 Navajo voters had their voter registration status purged by election officials on the basis that their addresses were “too obscure.” Native voters are often turned away at the door because their tribal IDs are not recognized as valid forms of voter identification.

Indigenous voters turned out in record numbers for the 2020 election. *Photograph: Cayla Nimmo/AP*

The NAVRA would establish that identification issued by “a federally recognized Indian Tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, or any other Tribal or Federal agency” to an eligible Native voter must be treated as a valid form of identification for voting purposes.

Lastly, the NAVRA would ensure language accessibility for bilingual and non-English speaking Native voters. This would consist of translations for voting material in Native languages, including registration, voting notices, forms, instructions and ballots.

The effects of Native voter suppression are not inconsequential. According to the Native American Rights Fund, there are over 1 million eligible Native American voters in the United States who are not registered. In Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota, Native Americans, American Indians, and Alaska Natives comprise approximately 10 percent or more of the voting population. It’s time to stop discounting the power of the Native vote.

Read the full bill on the Congress website here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5008/text

Check out the Native American Rights Fund’s report on Native voter impact:

https://vote.narf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/obstacles_voter_impact_summary.pdf

The Native American Voting Rights Act Unpacked: https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/the-native-american-voting-rights-act-unpacked/