close
close

Le-verdict

News with a Local Lens

    • Voting hours extended on Navajo Nation after problems
    minsta

    Voting hours extended on Navajo Nation after problems

    Pabio Posted on

    Polling places in nine communities across the Navajo Nation will remain open until 9 p.m. after a series of problems earlier in the day raised concerns that residents were unable to vote.

    A judge ordered that polls would remain open for two additional hours in the communities of Lukachukai, Rock Point, Lupton, Fort Defiance, St. Michaels, Wheatfields, Dennehotso, Cottonwood and Chinle. The county met Tuesday evening with Navajo officials and representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties.

    After voting site issues Regarding the Navajo Nation, particularly in Apache County, the Navajo Justice Department has filed a complaint in Superior Court to extend voting hours by two hours, Navajo Nation President Buu said Tuesday Nygren.

    After nearly an hour of hearing involving the Navajo Nation, Apache County, the Arizona Democratic Party and the Arizona Republican Party, a judge ruled that polling places in the nine communities would remain open until 9 p.m.

    “The court will order that those courts remain open for two additional hours, but only those polling locations, because those are the polling locations for which the court has received specifically documented evidence on the issues,” the judge said Michael Latham of Apache County Superior Court.

    Latham said the only information presented in court was allegations from the Navajo Nation. He said if similar issues had occurred in other parts of the county, the court would treat them the same way. He said the court would not grant the relief specifically requested by the Navajo Nation, but would approve the extension for the specific ballot. polling stations, allowing two additional hours for all nine polling stations to remain open.

    “I understand from my meeting with the Board of Supervisors that Apache County opposes this request,” said Emily Craiger, an attorney with the Burgess Law Group representing Apache County, who was in the meeting executive with the supervisory board before the hearing. “Apache County’s position is that all voters were given the opportunity to vote today.”

    She said there had been issues with on-demand ballot printers, but the problem was identified and quickly resolved. The fix was implemented at 9 a.m. and worked throughout Apache County. Additionally, backup paper ballots were available at all locations and additional paper ballots were deployed. Accessible voting devices were also provided to ensure people could vote. “We recognize that there were longer lines than usual in Apache County, but that all voters had the opportunity to vote today and continue to have that opportunity now,” he said. Craiger said. “The fix was deployed at the start of the day so that voters could continue to vote for several hours.”

    Earlier, Nygren remained hopeful the extension would be approved at a hearing, but he expressed concern that even that extra time might not be enough to get voters back to the polls. There are approximately 43,227 members of the Navajo Nation registered to vote in Apache County. “To have a technology glitch and have it happen on Election Day … it’s hard enough to get people to the polls,” Nygren said. “People borrow money, take a taxi, they drive 10 miles on bumpy roads to vote, it takes an hour to vote, and then when they tell you the ballots don’t work, you have to wait. You get frustrated and you leave. It’s really difficult.

    Nygren traveled the Navajo Nation to engage with voters and, as an Apache County voter, expressed disappointment. Like other Navajo leaders, he suggested that it is no coincidence that this problem is occurring in the area where the Navajo population is highest, especially since the Navajo vote is considered powerful enough to help to move the state from red to blue in 2020.

    “We know that in the last election, the Navajo vote got President Biden elected,” Nygren said. “For Apache County to be affected like this is not a good thing.”

    With polls scheduled to close at 7 p.m., the Navajo Nation has requested an extension until 9 p.m. In the complaint, the Navajo Nation said Apache County Recorder Larry Noble and Elections Director Rita Vaughn failed to ensure ballots were available during the entire election period. vote, which hampered the closing of polling stations. Navajo voters’ ability to vote. The problem was linked to late opening of polling stations, malfunctioning machines and long wait times, with some voters waiting more than three hours.

    The complaint also states that ballot printers and accessible voting machines failed to work at various times and locations across the Navajo Nation in Apache County, “causing difficulties for Navajo voters attempting to vote.” exercise their fundamental right to vote.

    He added that only one voting site in Apache County continues to have problems with printers and registration machines. Navajo communities where polling places were not operational once polls opened were Rock Point, Cottonwood, St. Michaels and Dennehostso. Of the 403,927 registered Navajo citizens, the majority reside in Arizona, with 145,334 living in Arizona.

    “Additionally, during the day, voters had to wait in line at many polling stations, polling stations ran out of ballots, ballot printers did not work, and accessible voting devices did not work. not,” the complaint states. “These were widespread problems that were not limited to one or two polling places.”

    Apache County uses a precinct-based voting system, requiring voters to cast their ballot at designated polling locations for it to be valid. Without immediate court action, “Defendants risk causing irreparable harm to Plaintiff and potentially hundreds of registered voters,” the complaint states.

    “It’s anecdotal testimony to what was happening on the ground,” said Lance Broberg of the Arizona Republican Party, which opposed the extension. “Several different statements…the first one was at 10:30, the next one was at 9:40, then at 10:30, then at 9…so what do you see, these are all the complaints and all the issues that have been raised, have actually took place and are evidenced by the statements of individuals who arrived early in the morning. As the county explained, there were problems at the beginning of the opening of the polls, but these problems were resolved.

    Several polling places in Apache County were not actually opened at the legal time of 6 a.m. because poll workers were unable to issue ballots, the complaint states. These were Lukachukai, Lupton, Rock Point, Cottonwood, St. Michaels, Wheatfields and Dennehotso. At first, voters were unable to vote.

    “In Chinle, voters were leaving because they lacked printed ballots and lines were too long for accessible voting devices,” the complaint states. “Some locations such as Fort Defiance, Chinle, Dennehotso, Luckachukai and St. Michaels had long lines of up to 3.5 hours. Some voters were sent to other polling locations, although the county of Apache is a county based on a precinct.”

    The Navajo Nation’s attorney contacted Apache County officials about polling places that did not open on time. The county denied polling places were not operational, acknowledged the problems, but claimed most had been resolved by 11:30 a.m.

    “Even if we open the polls again, people won’t be able to come back and vote,” Nygren said. “It’s not like people are living on the streets to vote. The best way to communicate about Navajo is through the radio, but even if radio announcements were broadcast, by the time they hear the announcements, it might It’s too late. It’s unfortunate.”

    Pabio
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like