Sometimes overlooked by campaigns, Native voters could decide major elections in 2024
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
When you hear political strategists talk about key voting blocs that could tip an election one way or the other, a few groups come up over and over again - white evangelicals, the Black vote, soccer moms, the Latino vote. But what about Native American and Indigenous voters? NPR politics reporter Ximena Bustillo has been looking into this, and she's here to walk us through where a group that's often been overlooked could play a deciding factor in next year's elections. Hello. Good morning.
XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So you've looked at states where the population of Native eligible voters is pretty high. And it turns out that many of these are in prime swing states. So tell us some of the places that you looked at that we should keep our eyes on.
BUSTILLO: Well, in many of the key swing states over the last several election cycles, Native American voters have been credited for the outcomes. Here's Ta'jin Perez, the deputy director of Western Native Voice in Montana, explaining how this played out in his state in 2018 with Democratic Senator Jon Tester's race.
TA'JIN PEREZ: Knowing that on election night before I went to bed and before all the Native precincts started reporting in fully, that it looked like a loss for Tester. But by the next morning, after the Native precincts reported in completely, the victory was Tester's.
BUSTILLO: Tester is now up for reelection again in 2024. North Carolina is another pivotal state. In 2016, we saw the Lumbee Tribe, which is not federally recognized, help former President Donald Trump win the state, in large part because Trump advocated for their federal recognition. And in 2020, tribes in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada are credited with helping Biden win those closely watched states. Alaska, another state to watch where there is at least a quarter of population that identifies as Alaska Native and Native American.
MARTIN: So how would their impact be measured? How do analysts like this know that or have the credibility to say that this is the deciding factor, that these voters are the deciding factor?
BUSTILLO: Well, it really comes down to the voting margins. And Native voting organizers say that the total population size of Native Americans is often bigger than the margins by which these candidates won. And in these really tight swing races where just a few hundred or a few thousand votes can really make the difference, that's where these groups recognize their influence. Here's Jacqueline De Leon, a senior attorney at the Native American Rights Fund.
JACQUELINE DE LEON: If you vote consistently and if you vote with intention to protect your community, you can really make a difference, especially on those marginal states.
BUSTILLO: And it's important to remember that in many of these states and even in others that I don't highlight, there is pending litigation for fighting for the right to vote for Native Americans.
MARTIN: Wait a minute. Explain that because Native Americans are citizens. They're both citizens of their tribal nations, and they're also citizens in the United States.
BUSTILLO: Correct.
MARTIN: So what's the impediment to their voting?
BUSTILLO: Well, Native voting organizers told me that there are some unique challenges that Native voters face during elections. This can include not having polling locations close by. Many report having to drive hours to a polling location that may not even be staffed if they live on reservations or not having a personal mailbox to receive mail-in ballots, since P.O. boxes are common as opposed to street addresses. And they also say that this can also mean outright intimidation.
Another barrier is also just general voter education. Many groups are starting early with their voter registration and education efforts ahead of races that could be really close in 2024. The Native American Rights Fund's Jacqueline De Leon says that both political parties have been negligent in reaching out to Native Americans in both rural and urban areas. In some cases, she thinks parties and campaigns may be intimidated or don't know where to start. But the cost of not doing so could be the results at the end of election night.
MARTIN: That is NPR politics reporter Ximena Bustillo. Ximena, thank you.
BUSTILLO: Thank you.
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