On behalf of the Blackfeet Nation, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), ACLU, and the ACLU of Montana filed for an injunction in the Western Native Voice v. Jacobsen lawsuit on Jan. 12. The injunction will prevent HB 176 and HB 530 from going into law until the voter suppression case is decided.
“Instead of working with tribes to overcome the lack of residential mail delivery on reservations, or working to cut down the over 100 miles some voters have to travel to register to vote, the Montana Legislature took away options Native Americans depend on to vote. This injunction will protect these options until they are found unconstitutional.” said NARF Staff Attorney Jacqueline De León.
The injunction would protect voting rights for 2022. “Rural tribal communities across the seven reservations in Montana depend on election day registration and ballot assistance to participate in elections, so if the state began implementing these laws, they would deny many Native Americans the right to vote in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections,” said NARF Staff Attorney Samantha Kelty.
HB 176 ends same-day registration, which reservation voters have relied upon to cast votes in Montana since 2005. HB 530 attempts to block organized ballot collection on rural reservations, similar to an anti-ballot collection law that the Montana thirteenth judicial district court ruled as unconstitutional in Western Native Voice v. Stapleton in 2020.
“These laws were enacted to make it harder or impossible for Indigenous voters to cast a ballot. The vast size of Montana creates barriers to voting for the many that live in remote locations, including voters in Montana’s rural reservations. Montana legislators should be working to broaden access to the polls for all Montanans, including Indigenous voters,” said ACLU of Montana Executive Director Caitlin Borgmann.
Read more about Western Native Voice v. Jacobsen
The post Injunction Filed in Native American Voter Suppression Case appeared first on Native American Rights Fund.
On behalf of the Blackfeet Nation, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), ACLU, and the ACLU of Montana filed for an injunction in the Western Native Voice v. Jacobsen lawsuit on Jan. 12. The injunction will prevent HB 176 and HB 530 from going into law until the voter suppression case is decided.
“Instead of working with tribes to overcome the lack of residential mail delivery on reservations, or working to cut down the over 100 miles some voters have to travel to register to vote, the Montana Legislature took away options Native Americans depend on to vote. This injunction will protect these options until they are found unconstitutional.” said NARF Staff Attorney Jacqueline De León.
The injunction would protect voting rights for 2022. “Rural tribal communities across the seven reservations in Montana depend on election day registration and ballot assistance to participate in elections, so if the state began implementing these laws, they would deny many Native Americans the right to vote in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections,” said NARF Staff Attorney Samantha Kelty.
HB 176 ends same-day registration, which reservation voters have relied upon to cast votes in Montana since 2005. HB 530 attempts to block organized ballot collection on rural reservations, similar to an anti-ballot collection law that the Montana thirteenth judicial district court ruled as unconstitutional in Western Native Voice v. Stapleton in 2020.
“These laws were enacted to make it harder or impossible for Indigenous voters to cast a ballot. The vast size of Montana creates barriers to voting for the many that live in remote locations, including voters in Montana’s rural reservations. Montana legislators should be working to broaden access to the polls for all Montanans, including Indigenous voters,” said ACLU of Montana Executive Director Caitlin Borgmann.
Read more about Western Native Voice v. Jacobsen
The post Injunction Filed in Native American Voter Suppression Case appeared first on Native American Rights Fund.