In 2012 PBS referred to American Indians as “forgotten and ignored.”  A general election was looming—one that would re-elect the nation’s first African descent president and an administration that welcomed tribal leaders to the White House and offered unprecedented attention to Native issues.  PBS stated that American Indians were “increasingly getting themselves involved in the system,” while asserting that “the stakes are too high this election season for Indian Country to sit on the sidelines waiting to be courted.”

Since then, Representatives Markwayne Mullin (R-OK, Cherokee), Sharice Davids (D-KS, Hochunk) and Deb Haaland (D-NM, Laguna Pueblo) joined Tom Cole (R-OK, Chickasaw) in the House of Representatives, creating historic representation of American Indians in Congress.

This year Independent Diné, Mark Charles is running for President of the United States. His name will be on ballots in Colorado and Vermont and quite possibly Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Dakota and Tennessee. He is a write-in candidate in 30 more states.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez delivered a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in support of  Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) who if successful, will defeat President Donald Trump in November’s general election. Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer presented at the Republican National Convention in support of the re-election of President Trump. 

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, Election Day, November, 3, 2020 will be a testament of how Americans view the last four years, how the way the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic has impacted their lives, and where the country sits as we navigate contentious and difficult issues such as race, gender, and the environment.  It is your opportunity to stand up and be counted.

In Arizona: You may register to vote in person, by mail or online by October 5, 2020. Contact your county election office as soon as possible to request a mail-in ballot application. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Friday, October 23, 2020.The early voting period runs from Wednesday, October 7, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live. Contact your county recorder's office for details about in-person early voting locations and hours of operation. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office provides lists of what to bring to vote in person. For more information please contact the Arizona Secretary of State.

In New Mexico: You may register to vote by mail, in person or online by October 6, 2020. To request your mail-in ballot you must submit a mail ballot application and to your local election office. You should request your ballot as far in advance of the election as possible. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is (received by) Tuesday, October 20, 2020. Voters registered in New Mexico can look up where to vote in person on New Mexico's site. The early voting period runs from Saturday, October 17, 2020 to Saturday, October 31, 2020, but dates and hours may vary based on where you live. If you've voted in New Mexico before, you don't need to provide ID to vote. If you're a first-time voter who registered by mail and didn't include a copy of ID when you registered, you will need to show ID to vote. Acceptable forms include: photo ID; student ID card; ID issued by an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo; or a copy of a utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and current address. For more information please contact the New Mexico Secretary of State. 

In Utah: You may apply to apply to register to vote by mail, in person or online by October 23, 2020. If you are registered to vote before Friday, October 23, 2020. Your county clerk will mail ballots between October 13, 2020 and October 27, 2020. If you are registered to vote in San Juan County, your ballot may be mailed sooner. If you do not receive a ballot shortly after this time, immediately contact your county clerk’s office. Your mail ballot must be postmarked by the U.S. Post Office the day before Election Day, November 2, 2020. You can also drop your ballot at a drop box location before 8:00 pm on Election Day.  Find drop box locations near you. For more information please contact the Utah Secretary of State.

Special Note: Absentee and mail-in ballots are both ways of voting via the USPS and are only different in one way: Absentee ballots have to be requested by the voter to be mailed out. Mail-in ballots typically refer to states where the ballots are sent to all registered voters whether they requested one or not. Absentee ballots have to be requested along with a reason for voting absentee. Arizona and New Mexico are among 29 states that let any registered voter request an absentee ballot for any reason.

Congress held two hearings this past week to explore Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s motives in making sudden and dramatic changes to the USPS and determine what,  if any damage his actions have caused American citizens and our democracy.

Members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform hewed to party lines, with Republicans praising Mr. DeJoy for making the tough financial calls needed for USPS to operate more efficiently and Democrats denouncing him for allegedly high jacking an American institution to advance his own political agenda.

At issue is the ability of the American people to effectively elect the next President of the United States. Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) insisted, “(T)he postal system has more than enough excess capacity to handle mail-in balloting,” while House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-CA) suggested, “Perhaps Mr. DeJoy is just doing exactly what President Trump said he wanted on national television—using the blocking of funds to justify sweeping changes to hobble mail-in voting.”

On August 25, 2020, Chairwoman Maloney introduced the Nonpartisan Postmaster General Act that would prohibit the Postal Service Board of Governors, the Postmaster General, and the Deputy Postmaster General from holding any political position while in office, as well as restricting nominees for Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General to those who have not engaged in political activities in the four years prior to their appointments—ensuring that these positions are filled by qualified experts rather than political operatives.

On August 28, 2020, Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) introduced the Tribal Connect Act to invest $100 million in high speed broadband connectivity in Indian Country.

“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to show the true impact of disparities that tribal schools and students have been facing – including the lack of access to high-speed internet. Unfortunately, an alarming percentage of rural tribal communities in New Mexico lack access to broadband internet, which means less access to educational, health, and career-related resources,” said Heinrich.

The Tribal Connect Act is bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would for the first time make Navajo Chapter Houses and other tribally owned community centers eligible for the Federal Communications Commission’s e-rate program that for the past twenty years has helped public schools and libraries obtain high-speed internet access and telecommunications at affordable rates.

“As coronavirus has forced schools and businesses to go remote, the digital divide in Arizona’s Native American communities has sharpened,”  McSally said. “Our bill will help bridge that divide by investing in broadband connectivity and improving internet access in Native American communities over time so that our tribal students and families have greater access to quality education, jobs, and other public resources.”

President Jonathan Nez offered, “We appreciate the leadership of Senator Heinrich and Senator McSally for introducing the Tribal Connect Act of 2020 that will help close the digital divide with tribal communities. The Tribal Connect Act would, for the first time, make our community centers eligible for the same FCC e-rate program that has provided distance-learning, job training, and other crucial services to other communities across the United States. What COVID-19 has taught us is that access to high speed internet is lifesaving and it is urgently needed more now than ever on the Navajo Nation.”

On August 27, 2020, the United States government executed Lezmond Mitchell, an enrolled citizen of the Navajo Nation. This was the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ first execution of an American Indian on federal death row and fourth execution in the past year since Attorney General William Barr reinstated the federal death penalty last July. President Donald Trump refused to grant Lezmond Mitchell executive clemency despite numerous and persistent requests made by the Navajo Nation and hundreds of tribes, tribal organizations, and American Indian legal scholars. 

While most agreed that Mitchell's involvement in a grisly murder that claimed the lives of a grandmother and her nine-year-old granddaughhter warranted punishment that would never return him to the outside world, what was also at stake was the respect for tribal sovereignty. Capital offenses under the Major Crimes Act require the government to seek tribal sanction for the death penalty when a tribal member kills another on tribal land.  By changing the charge to "highjacking resulting in murder" the state of Arizona gained the legal wherewithal to seek the death penatly and circumvent the sovereign tribal authority and privilege of deciding the fate of a tribal member. This was only possible because the government exploited a legal loophole. It was also the only time the federal government has pursued a death sentence for a crime on tribal land over a tribe’s opposition.

Under President Trump, the federal government has carried out more executions in just one year than in the previous 56 years combined.