Background

The Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021 (NAVRA) is bipartisan legislation. It was introduced in the Senate on August 10, 2021, and in the House on August 13, 2021. The United States has a trust responsibility to enact voting rights legislation to protect the constitutionally guaranteed right of Native Americans to vote. Despite the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 and the Nationality Act in 1940, Native American voters continue to face unique challenges when exercising their right to vote.

Tellingly, in voting rights litigation, Native Americans have won an astounding 90+% of the cases they have brought. Federal legislation is sorely needed to establish baseline, consistent standards for voting in Indian Country, particularly given that Native Americans continue to incur costly legal fees to defend their right to franchise from state and county laws and practices that seek to disenfranchise Native American voters.

In order to protect the right to vote on Indian lands, any legislation passed must address the distinct issues confronting Native American voters, including:

• Geographic isolation, often with lack of reliable transportation and poor access to distant polling and registration locations;
• Non-traditional mailing addresses, overcrowded housing, homelessness, and housing instability;
• Lack of residential mail delivery and limited access to post offices;
• Lack of access to affordable and reliable broadband service;
• Native language translation needs, including non-written, during voting process;
• Strong socioeconomic challenges, such as poverty and unemployment;
• Historic and ongoing mistrust of state and local governments.

Related Legislative Hearings:

Restoring the Voting Rights Act: Protecting the Native American and Alaska Native Vote. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on the Constitution. Wednesday, October 20, 2021.

Business Meeting to consider H.R.1688 & Oversight Hearing on “Voting Matters in Native Communities. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.. Wednesday, October 27 2021

Oversight of the Voting Rights Act: The Evolving Landscape of Voting Discrimination. House Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Thursday, April 22, 2021

News About NAVRA:

• A Voice at the Ballot Box: A Broken System Leaves the American Indian without a Strong Voice in Elections (9/14/21) Lycia Maddocks of Thunderbird Strategic, LLC, interview with NARF Staff Attorney Jacqueline De León for the American Indian Advocacy “Strengthening Tribal Sovereignty” podcast series

Support for NAVRA

NARF joined multiple tribal organizations and civil rights organizations in their strong endorsement of the  Frank Harrison, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American Voting Rights Act of 2021.  

Letter of support signatories included:

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