Native-led voting rights organizations celebrated the defeat of Proposition 309 earlier in the month, which would have added voter ID requirements.

According to grassroots groups, Proposition 309 would have created another barrier for Native voters by changing Arizona’s voter identification system and mail-in ballot procedure. A voter would have to provide their date of birth as well as their voter identification number when filling out the affidavit for mail-in ballots. It would have required photo identification for in-person voter. This would replace the current system that requires voters to provide two forms of identification, one without a photograph, if they don’t have one.

Martin Harvier, president and CEO of Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian community, stated that “The context of mine concern as a tribal leader for one of 22 tribe nations in Arizona is the long history in which tribal voters have to overcome obstacles to vote.” “You may recall that Native Americans were only made citizens of this country in 1924. There have been many obstacles since then for Native Americans to vote.

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Harvier joined groups like Indigenous Baaja Ádaaní Al Son, All Voting Is Local Action, Progress Arizona, ADRC Action, One Arizona, and Opportunity Arizona at a press conference earlier this week in the Salt River community to talk about the defeat of Proposition 309.

Arizona Senator J.D. One of the sponsors, Mesnard, R.Chandler, insisted otherwise during a live debate with Pinny Sheoran of the League of Women Voters of Arizona.

Mesnard claimed that the measure was a result of a “crisis in confidence” during the Sept. 20 debate. Sheoran pointed out that the measure could cause difficulties for Indigenous voters and even prevent them from voting.

Mesnard said that tribal IDs are acceptable as long as there’s a photo. He stated that the measure would not exclude voters and anyone without a photo ID could get it for free if they are voting.

Proposition 309 was supported by other conservative groups, such as the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and Goldwater Institute. Arizonans for Voter ID led the campaign to support the measure.

Alex Alvarez (executive director of Progress Arizona) stated that Prop 309 was a cynical scheme by politicians to give away voting rights. Alvarez stated that the measure placed barriers on mail-in voting. This is a process that Arizona voters have used for decades, regardless of party affiliation. We have shown that the voters of this state trust the mail-in voting system.

Voting barriers are not new to Indigenous people

Alex Gulotta from Arizona, the state director for All Voting Is Local Action said that Proposition 309 was used to suppress voter turnout. He stated that when Texas adopted a similar measure, it had a 13% rejection rate.

Gulotta stated that “they were rejected not because they were eligible but because these people couldn’t meet new requirements.” They couldn’t enter all of the numbers on the ballots. They made errors on the ballots. They did not receive their ballots in time. These were votes that were rejected for technical reasons. It was a huge mistake.

Arizona’s 12 to 13% mail-in votes would equal approximately 250,000 voters.

Native voters face many obstacles, particularly elders born at home who have been issued a delayed or ineligible birth certificate. Some may not be able to identify their birth date or have difficulty locating it because the different government agencies frequently assign different birth dates. Problems at the polling stations have also been created by the lack of street-level rural addresses. Voters with post office boxes were turned away.

Tribal members may have to travel long distances in order to get government identification. It can take voters hours to get to the Navajo Nation offices that can issue a card. This is on top of other factors like time and gas.

Eric Descheenie is the executive director of Indigenous Baaja Adaani Al Son. “Where young people spoke with their grandparents and parents, sometimes in a different language than English, about the complexities of voting in Arizona, and explained the details of Proposition 309 as well as what it does. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them. I thank them.

Descheenie, a Chinle resident, claimed that his mother was born in Chinle in a traditional Dine hogan and was not given a birth certificate. She would have faced many challenges in obtaining the Proposition 309 identification she needed.

Descheenie, a former member of Arizona House of Representatives, recalled in 2018 oil paintings of former speakers of Arizona House, which date back to the 1900s and how they were hung in the Arizona House’s back room.

Descheenie said, “I told them if they had my way I wouldn’t be standing on the House floor.” In other words, we couldn’t vote or hold elected office. You can see the oil paintings gone if you visit the House today. Instead, what is there is weaving by Navjao or other Indigenous people.

Proposition 309 was unsuccessful, but advocates believe that there will be similar ballot measures in future. Gulotta stated that many of the items in Proposition 309 could be brought back as separate legislation. If this happens, he hopes these bills will either get voted down or vetoed.

Gulotta stated, “I believe it is likely that there will be a lot of anti-voter policy in the Legislature this year as there have been over the past few sessions.” “Last session, there were more than 140 anti-voter laws that our coalition fought to defeat. While we were successful in many of these, not all of them was. We will continue to fight similar battles.”