NEW from me: Despite a record turnout, Native American voters faced challenges new and old to casting a ballot in the 2020 election, from having to travel miles to the polls, lacking reliable mail delivery, and even overcoming geographic barriers https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12
Things that many take for granted, like being within easy travel distance of a voting location, getting mail to a traditional mailing address, & having good enough internet access to register to vote online, are out of reach for many Native communities https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12
Native voters turned out to vote in record numbers in communities from Arizona to Wisconsin, but that feat meant overcoming numerous structural barriers to registration and voting posed by physical and digital divides alike https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12
Diné activist @allieyoung13 told me that where she lives in Navajo County, AZ, the nearest polling place/PO box for many may be 10+ miles away, early voting sites have limited dates/hours, and drop boxes arent available everywhere https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12 https://twitter.com/JMilesColeman/status/1335036602775695364
. @NDNrights attorney Jacqueline De León told me that she & her colleagues had to fight for access to things like in-person voting and dropbox access on reservations in states like NV and MT that moved to hold the November election almost entirely by mail https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12
"Though the Native turnout was 'successful,' and it was in a lot of ways successful and higher than it has previously been, it doesn't mean that there's equitable access, it doesn't mean that every voter is voting," Jacqueline De León of @NDNrights told me https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12
In Alaska, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many of the recurring issues to voting in Alaska Native communities, like availability of early voting, poll worker recruitment, language assistance, and access to mail voting, @NPActionAlaska told me https://www.businessinsider.com/native-american-voters-still-face-widespread-challenges-to-voting-2020-12