On Tuesday, voters gathered incessantly at the Polling Place of the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community at the Tribal Recreation Center to cast their ballots, drop off early ballots, and pick up stolen items such as T-shirts, mouse pads and mugs. I got the

A large tent sheltered the tribe and voter protection staff from the sun on a bright autumn day in a community just east of Scottsdale.

But not all was well, with polling station officials arguing that at least one counter was out of order. Voting observers told the Republic of Arizona they saw one voter forced to make three attempts before their ballot was accepted by the machine.

Salt River City Councilman Diane Enos is a frequent volunteer attorney. Arizona Native Vote Election Protection Projectsaid the group had been receiving calls from throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area regarding problems with the Aggregate Machine Program.

in some cases. She said voters’ ballots were “messed up.” This is the process by which a polling place official voids a ballot if it is damaged or unusable. Voters will be given another new ballot to be scored again.

“I saw one person vote, but there are people who couldn’t vote on the voting machine,” she said.

Enos advised voters to mail in their early ballots, sign and date the envelopes, and to let polling place workers know their ballots arrived on Election Day.

ASU Legal Clinic Helps Solve Problems

The Indian Legal Clinic at Arizona State University served as the command center for the Native Vote Election Protection Project. nonpartisan initiative of the National Indian Convention, which supports voter registration and election protection, and voter education about candidates and issues;

ASU law professor Patty Ferguson Bohney, director of the clinic and native voting coordinator, said the project placed students and lawyers at polling stations on reservations and in communities where large numbers of First Nations voted across the state. .

Phones rang incessantly with questions ranging from where to vote in some rural counties to reports of problems with language interpreting technology and a shortage of human interpreters.

“We get a lot of calls from the Navajo,” said Ferguson Bohney, a member of the Pointe aux Cheng Indian Tribe.

Workers learned of problems with the tallying machine in Maricopa County and polling places opening up to two hours late in the Navajo community of Many Farms.

Native Vote worked with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Navajo Nation to draft a draft asking the Apache County Court to keep many farms open until 9 p.m. extra time.

Other Native Vote workers reported other issues throughout the day. “New Her Pascua is open, but the machines are not running,” she said of the Pima County polling place in one of her Yaki communities.

Native poll workers have also responded to calls about overzealous campaign workers intimidating voters or moving within the mandated 75-foot zone surrounding polling place entrances.

In one case, “a woman was taking pictures of voters in Guadalupe,” said Ferguson Bohney. Election Protection Workers have been called in to put an end to this practice and educate campaign volunteers on how to campaign for candidates without intimidation.

In another case, polling station officials attempted to keep election guardians out of the facility.

firearms near polling place

There have been reports of men with guns at tribal polling stations.

It was Jeff Zink, who was running for Congress against Democratic incumbent Reuben Gallego. Mr. Zink campaigned against the Republic of Arizona at a polling station at the Tribal Community Center in the Gila River Indian community as he was confronted by a poll worker as he set up his booth with water, snacks and coffee. said. Polling officials told him he needed a permit to install a candidate’s signature.

“We are trying to have a fair election. The only two people we didn’t like being there were the two who came out,” he said.

Zink told the Republic that he was unaware that possessing a weapon was against tribal law, and that he had never entered a tribal government building.

“The tribal police came out and talked to me, no problem,” he said.

A native polling staffer said Zink locked a gun in his car when police approached. A photograph taken by a native poll worker showed Zink’s gun holstered.

Like Zink, voter protection workers began operating outside the electoral law-mandated 75-foot zone, but native vote workers also had the same problems with overzealous vote workers.

Finally, Mr. Zink said the polling station supervisors would come out and let everyone stay.

“We put the booth back in and then I left and went elsewhere,” he said.

Navajo go to vote

Roselle Sandoval wore her specially made ‘VOTE’ necklace. On election day, she and others stood outside the Navajo Nation’s Fort Defiance Chapter House to speak to voters about state and federal elections.

Working with the Arizona mission, they were campaigning for Senator Mark Kelly and gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs. Sandoval said he distributed information sheets to voters to help them understand the candidates and the proposals.

“Many of them don’t know, and many of our elders don’t know, so we have a sheet with suggestions on the back,” Sandoval said. “That’s good news for them. We want the Navajo to push our candidate. Our goal is to keep Arizona blue and keep the Democratic Party.”

Andy Nez was running for delegates to the councils of the Fort Defiance, Sawmill, Red Lake and Crystal communities. While other Arizona voters were opting for state and federal elections, the Navajo Nation was in full swing with congressional and presidential elections.

At the Fort Defiance chapter on Tuesday, Nez spoke with voters about his campaign. His communities are in both Arizona and New Mexico, so as a delegate, he will represent voters in both Arizona and New Mexico.

“As a researcher and statistician who has spent my entire career in education, that’s what my career is worth and I have to see the results,” Nez said. “When I got my PhD, it was about that.”

He said he shares that knowledge with his family and community.

“You have to understand that everything you do takes evidence and you have to plan wisely,” he said, adding, “Not just for five years now, but for 20 years.”

Salt River Voters Join

Deedle Goodluck, a Navajo member who has family in the Salt River community and lives near the reservation, said Salt River was her polling place and has been for years.

“I am always here to make sure we are representatives,” she said. important to.”

Goodluck said she voted for the straight Democratic ticket.

“It’s important to have a judiciary and representation that has the tribe’s best interests in mind,” she said.

Salt River Vice President Ricardo Leonard arrived to cast an early ballot with his tribe member friends. Leonard said the current political climate could be attributed to giving groups like white supremacists a break.

“When you have politicians supporting these groups, you’re opening the door,” he said. he said.

“But when there are a lot of people who say the election was rigged, it’s hard to get over it,” Leonard said.