ND’s Native voters face ballot barriers
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With fewer than five weeks until the midterm elections, new data show Native voters in North Dakota could face potential barriers at multiple points in the voting process.
A new report from the Native American Rights Fund examined data from the past three federal elections in four North Dakota counties where Native Americans make up between 28% and 84% of the population.
Allison Neswood, senior staff attorney for the fund, said the findings confirm what Native communities have long known to be true.
“Their registration is getting denied, their ballots (are) getting rejected, and all of this really adds up to the systemic disenfranchisement of our people in our own homelands,” Neswood said.
The report found voting barriers can compound, from registration and mail delivery to polling place access and ballot processing. Mail-in voting is a major part of North Dakota's elections. Among ballots cast in the June primary, 41% were either absentee or early votes, even as the state requires absentee ballots to be received by the close of polls on Election Day.
While North Dakota counties reported relatively low numbers of rejected ballots, the state did not provide the number of rejected provisional ballots for the years included in the report. The findings come as the U.S. Supreme Court blocked efforts from the Trump administration for the Postal Service to oversee mail-in ballots, a move plaintiffs successfully argued would have severely restricted voting by mail. The administration said it will continue to verify voter eligibility and prevent illegal voting.
A recent MIT study found no evidence of fraud at a scale capable of affecting election outcomes. Neswood believes partisan actors are intentionally pushing a false narrative.
“It feels like an effort to sow doubt,” Neswood contended. “What impacts the outcome of elections is the systematic disenfranchisement of groups that are already disempowered in our society.”
To curb potential barriers for Native voters, the report recommended expanding voting options on or near tribal lands and expanding automatic and same-day registration to areas with larger Native populations. Neswood added election officials should consult tribal governments before making changes affecting access to the ballot.
“Making sure that our Native communities have polling locations in a reasonable distance from where they live, making sure they have registration opportunities, making sure that they can participate in mail voting,” Neswood said.