White House report calls for broader access to ballot box
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Local, state and federal officials must do more to ensure Native Americans facing persistent, longstanding and deep-rooted barriers to voting have equal access to ballots, a White House report concludes.
Native Americans and Alaska Natives vote at lower rates than the national average but have been a key constituency in tight races in states with large Native populations. A surge in voter turnout among tribal members in Arizona, for example, helped lift Joe Biden to victory in the state that hadn’t supported a Democrat in a White House contest since 1996.
The Biden administration’s report this week comes a year after he issued an executive order promoting voting rights and establishing a steering committee to look at barriers to voting in Indigenous communities. Those include state laws and local practices that disenfranchise Indigenous voters and unequal access to early voting.
“For far too long, members of tribal nations and Native communities have faced unnecessary burdens when they attempt to exercise their sacred right to vote,” the White House said.
The administration called on Congress to pass voting rights legislation, including the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and another focused on Native Americans. But those bills have stalled. Republicans wouldn’t support them, and Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona have been unwilling to override the filibuster to allow the legislation to pass.
Republican state legislatures and governors recently have passed restrictive laws dealing with voting and elections. They have limited the use of mail voting, which proved hugely popular during the pandemic, implemented strict voter ID requirements, eliminated ballot drop boxes and created several penalties for local election officials who could be accused of violating certain laws.
The White House highlighted efforts within federal agencies that include the Interior Department working to designate tribal colleges in New Mexico and Kansas as voter registration centers. The Treasury Department will provide voter education through its income tax assistance centers, the White House said. And the U.S. Department of Justice has more than doubled its voting rights enforcement to ensure election officials are complying with federal law, senior administration officials said.
Despite the challenges, Native American voting rights groups increasingly have mobilized over the years to boost turnout that is about 13% lower than the national average, according to the White House. The states with the largest percentage of Native Americans and Alaska Natives are Alaska, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota and Montana.