Leaders from the Navajo Nation, the largest tribal reservation in the country, have unanimously passed a resolution opposing a voter-ID law pending in the U.S Senate.
The SAVE America Act, or Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, is a top priority for President Trump ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. It would require people to bring ID to the polls and to prove their citizenship in person when registering to vote.
On the sprawling Navajo Nation, where people have to travel long distances to election offices, the bill is an affront to tribal voters, said Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley.
“It’s just very ironic that we’ve been here for thousands of years that we’re being questioned if we are really citizens of this nation,” she said in an interview from Window Rock, Ariz.
The voting legislation passed the Republican-controlled House in February, but its future in the Senate is unclear. Trump said passing the bill would “guarantee the midterms” for Republicans.
Supporters of the bill maintain that it will prevent non-citizens from voting in federal elections, something that is already prohibited by law.
“Every U.S. citizen, which includes tribal citizens, should feel as confident as possible in the integrity of our elections,” said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) in a statement to Here & Now. His district includes part of the Navajo Nation.
Earlier this year at a Congressional hearing, Crane said Democrats don’t support the bill because “they want power and they need these illegals to vote in our elections.”
Voting experts say it is exceedingly rare for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections.
Meanwhile, tribal leaders say the law could have a significant impact on the 420,000 enrolled members of the Navajo Nation. The reservation that spans three Southwestern states is the size of West Virginia, and many elders don’t have the required documents to prove their citizenship.
“Many of our people were born at home, so we run into the challenge of them not having birth certificates,” Curley said.
If they do have a passport, a valid tribal ID or a birth certificate, people living on a remote reservation could have to drive hours to bring the documents to an election office.
On Election Day 2024, Navajo Nation resident Betty John drove across the reservation looking for the right place to cast her ballot for president. Like many tribal residents, she doesn’t have a physical address. She, her husband and seven adult children were turned away at several precincts.
According to the group Arizona Native Vote, more than 3,000 ballots were rejected in that election at tribal precincts in Northern Arizona. John said that if the Senate passes the SAVE Act, it would make voting on the Navajo Nation even more challenging.
“It’s going to be chaos,” John said. “It’s already complicated.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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