The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 14, 2024
Today’s Script
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
The ink wasn’t yet dry on the Indian Citizens Act of 1924 when voter suppression of Native Americans began. Natives have been fighting for their right to register and vote, proper representation, and fair voting districts ever since.
The Brennan Center for Justice writes that for decades, Arizona disenfranchised Native citizens because they were, QUOTE, “Persons under guardianship.” New Mexico’s constitution stipulated that people who didn’t pay taxes, including Natives on reservations, could not vote.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited these suppression tactics. But the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby decision opened a floodgate of new Native suppression in Arizona, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Nevada and other states.
Recently, proof of citizenship and voter ID laws have targeted Natives, some of whom don’t have an ID, or live in remote areas without street numbers. Counties have used “at-large” voting districts to dilute Native voting power, or removed drop boxes or polling places, forcing voters to drive sometimes more than a hundred miles to vote.
What can be done? The federal Native American Voting Rights Act is stuck in Congress, but New Mexico passed its own version in 2023. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act restores protections stripped from the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the Freedom to Vote Act would expand voting access for ALL Americans.
We have resources at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Native American Rights Fund – (2020) Obstacles at Every Turn
Brennan Center for Justice – How Voter Suppression Laws Target Native Americans
NPR – Sometimes overlooked by campaigns, Native voters could decide major elections in 2024
Split Ticket – The Largest Native American Voting Blocs
Intermountain Histories – Trujillo v. Garley: The Struggle for Native American Voting Rights
The White House – (2022) REPORT OF THE INTERAGENCY STEERING GROUP ON NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren – Native American Voting Rights Act
U.S. Congress – John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
National Conference of State Legislatures – Recently Enacted Legislation Impacting Native American Voters
Groups Taking Action:
Native American Rights Fund, Native Vote, National Congress of American Indians, Declaration for American Democracy
Check Your Voter Registration:
- U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
- USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
- Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
- Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
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