Organizers Loren and Casey are supported by family and community members in White Clay and Kayenta. They have spent every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in the field educating voters on the power of their vote.
The Arizona Republican-controlled state legislature has proposed countless bills aimed at making it harder for Indigenous and rural voters to cast their ballots. The AZ GOP is also suing to remove Native voters from the rolls, actions that undermine our democracy.
Native Voters are a powerful voting bloc who can re-elect Joe Biden
Donate to support Native Get-Out-the-Vote efforts on the Navajo Nation, and Apache and Hopi Tribal lands for the midterms.
What is the reason for these suppressive tactics? It is clear in 2020 and 2022, WE WON. Instead of making a better case to voters, Republicans are trying to rig the November election. Republicans are targeting Native voters because we are a powerful voting bloc in Arizona. Our Native values align with Democratic Party ideals. Although the relationship isn’t perfect, there are numerous connections — family, community, the Earth, and a belief in doing more good than harm.
It’s no secret what Republicans are doing in their efforts; they propagate lies, embrace false narratives, and create chaos and confusion. This is part of a national strategy to stop Indigenous, Black, Brown and rural people from voting. Republicans are afraid of our power as voters.
Republicans are imposing restrictions on voting, registration, and even staying on the voting rolls by narrowing identification options and requiring proof of citizenship. During the pandemic, mail-in voting helped Democrats and now Republicans are attacking access to mail voting.
One bill attempted by Republicans aimed to ban vote centers and a return to precinct-based voting. In rural Arizona polling locations can be spread out over vast areas with low population density. Forcing Arizona voters to vote at specific polling locations would make it impossible for many who work in population centers across the county to cast their ballots successfully. If Republicans want to restore faith in election security, they should stop presenting outrageous “solutions'' to problems that don’t exist.
This month, the AZ GOP sued to remove 500,000 voters from the rolls, many from Navajo and Apache counties — our turf. Here’s the truth: the lawsuit uses inaccurate census data to claim more registered voters than eligible people. In 2020 Indigenous voters in Northeast Arizona won the White House for Joe Biden. This attempt to purge the voting rolls aims to prevent Indigenous and rural voters from casting ballots. Who does that?
Legislating discrimination to suppress voting power is nothing new in the U.S., especially when effective organizing threatens the status quo with genuine and equal representation in Indigenous, Black, Brown, and rural communities
The GOP knows our team has the power to get out the vote and elect Jonathan Nez
The Navajo County Democrats and Northeast Arizona Native Democrats have a clear plan for countering these attacks on voting rights:
+ We keep organizing.
+ We invest in ourselves by hiring local organizers to reach our communities.
+ We know our power – we’ve flexed it and can do it again and again.
+ We continue registering our people and talking with voters about how to stop Republican voter suppression efforts.
+ We keep communicating through online and offline strategies
+ We support and uplift our women, especially our Indigenous Matriarchs.
Three years ago we launched our incredible, extremely effective grassroots Family Votes program, an initiative that recruits and trains Indigenous Matriarchs to register their families and communities to vote. We know women make the best advocates and organizers because they lead their families and communities. For generations, they’ve been the civic engagement directors in rural and Indigenous communities, but not enough has been done to invest in them. Since 2020 we’ve been changing that narrative by investing in our moms, daughters, aunties, and grandmas–our matriarchs.
To date, this investment has resulted in:
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Recruiting more than 400 Family Votes Matriarchs on Navajo Hopi and White Mountain Apache Lands
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Registering over 175 new family members to vote for the first time
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Hosting trainings and matriarch’s conversations in over 30 communities.
Indigenous, Black, and Brown voters want change and we are not quiet about it. We know what needs to be done to help us ALL move forward: moving everyone forward together should be the norm.
Help us beat back these extremist measures today and donate to our field program so we can hire more Native organizers and produce the resources needed to reach voters in tribal and rural communities.