MAKE VOTING A TRADITION

PROTECTING THE SACRED RIGHT TO VOTE — VOTE LIKE YOUR SOVEREIGNTY DEPENDS ON IT

By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor, and Jamie Edwards, Government Affairs

Self-governance was practiced by Native people long before the formation of the United States. Yet, it took many years before Native American people were granted full U.S. citizenship and the right to vote in their own homelands.

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also called the Snyder Act, was passed by Congress in 1924 and admitted Native Americans born in the U.S. to full U.S. citizenship. Even with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, Native communities were consistent targets of voter disenfranchisement efforts. It was not until 1970, when the Voting Rights Act was finally passed, that major restrictions facing American Indians and Alaska Native voters were removed in every state.

Even with the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1970, Native communities have continued to face difficulties to casting their ballots in local, state, and federal elections, including:

• Geographic isolation, often with a lack of reliable transportation and poor access to distant polling and registration locations;

• Non-traditional mailing addresses, overcrowded housing, homelessness, and housing instability;

• Lack of residential mail delivery and limited access to post offices;

• Lack of access to affordable and reliable broadband service;

• Strong socioeconomic challenges, such as poverty and unemployment;

• Historic and ongoing mistrust of state and local governments.

Increased voter turnout by Native Americans can make a difference. Maurice Crandall, an Arizona State University history professor and citizen of the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Camp Verde said, “Many people credit the Native vote with deciding to bring Arizona into the (Joe) Biden camp.” Biden won Arizona by about 10,500 votes, as voter turnout surged on the Navajo and Hopi reservations. (Source: Associated Press.)

Native people are not only seeking more inclusive and thoughtful representation from government officials but are also running for office in increasing numbers across the U.S. at all levels — local, state, and federal. In this upcoming general election with the razor thin margins, the Native vote will likely be critical in helping to elevate the first Native woman (Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan) to Governor in any state.

The Band has been working diligently over the years to increase Band member voter turn-out numbers. Your vote is your voice. This upcoming election is your chance to vote like your sovereignty depends on it! Because it does.

Early voting has already begun across all of Minnesota’s 87 counties. Running from September 20, 2024, up to the General Election, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, early voting will be available to all Band members. Please read the section below regarding a recent change in state law and how the Band will be taking advantage of this new change.

Minnesota Statute Section 203b.081, subd. (4) provides that “[a]t the request of a federally recognized Indian Tribe with a reservation in the county, the county auditor must establish an additional polling place for at least one day on the Indian Reservation on a site agreed upon by the Tribe and the county…”

Under this statutory change, the Band has established early voting/”temporary absentee polling locations” within Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Pine counties for at least one day between September 20 and Election Day.

• District I will have two dates of early voting opportunity: Monday, October 14 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Friday, November 1 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. both proposed to be held at the Old Community Center.

• District II will have one date of early voting on Tuesday, October 15 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the District II/ East Lake Minisinaakwaang Community Center.

• District III will also have two dates of early voting opportunity: Tuesday, October 15 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Lake Lena Aazhoomog Community Center and Friday, October 25 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. at the Meshshakwad Community Center.

These “temporary absentee balloting locations” are open to all residents of their respective counties.

County election officials will be administering these “temporary absentee balloting locations” in Districts II and III. In District I (Mille Lacs County), these early voting opportunities will be administered by Mille Lacs Band members under the direction of Mille Lacs County election officials.

The Government Affairs team is in the process of recruiting volunteers from each District to help turn out the vote leading up to the November 5 General Election. If you would like to volunteer for the #GOTV campaign, please contact Curt Kalk at 320-362-1719 or email curt.kalk@millelacsband.com

Watch for exciting community events around each of these dates. Keep an eye on the Mille Lacs Band Facebook page for announcements about events in your area. Also, watch for ways to grab your Mille Lacs Band free #GOTV swag to encourage Band members to Make Voting a Tradition. And, watch your mailbox for a Band member voter’s guide to be mailed out in the coming weeks.

YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE!

Are you ready to vote in the 2024 Presidential election?

Who can vote in Minnesota

To vote you must be:

• A U.S. citizen.

• At least 18 years old on Election Day (16- and 17-year-olds can pre-register).

• A resident of Minnesota for 20 days.

• Not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction.

• Not under a court order that revokes your right to vote.

Please note: Your criminal record does not affect your right to vote in Minnesota unless you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction.

This means you CAN vote if:

• you were charged with or convicted of a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor.

• you are in jail, but are not currently serving a felony sentence.

• you have been charged with a felony, but you haven’t been convicted.

• you have been given a stay of adjudication.

• you have been convicted of a felony, but are not incarcerated.

• you are on work release, even if you return to a jail facility at night.

You cannot vote if:

• you are currently incarcerated serving a felony sentence.

Register Online or Update Your Registration

It's quick and easy! To register online. Go to the Minnesota Secretary of State website at https://mnvotes.sos.mn.gov/VoterRegistration/index

You will need:

• Your Minnesota driver’s license or Minnesota identification card number, or the last four numbers of your Social Security number.

• An email address.

• To be eligible to vote in Minnesota.

You will need to re-register if your name or address changes.

Other Ways to Register

• Use a paper form. Download a voter registration form to print, complete, and return to your local elections office.

• Register when you vote. In Minnesota voters can register at polling places on Election Day or early voting locations before Election Day.

• Automatic voter registration. All eligible adults will be automatically registered to vote when they get a state-issued ID.

If you submit a Change of Address with USPS, that may also trigger an update of your registration.

Need help?

Call 1-877-600-VOTE (8683); contact your county election office; or call Mille Lacs Band Government Affairs at 320-362-1719.