Navajo Nation moves tribal election date to match Arizona primary date

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — To align with Arizona’s primary election dates and keep voter turnout intact, the Navajo Nation passed emergency legislation to move its tribal primary election from August to July, matching the state’s schedule.

Having two elections conducted one week apart would depress Navajo voter turnout and dilute the Navajo vote, according to the Navajo Nation Board of Election Supervisors.

In February, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2785 into law, changing Arizona’s 2024 primary election date to July 30. This change will only apply to the 2024 primary election.

At the risk of holding two elections on the Navajo Nation in Arizona, tribal officials did not want to dilute the Navajo vote for Arizona’s primary and local tribal government elections by making voters visit polling sites twice.

“Arizona is a swing state, and the number of Navajo voters is significant,” the Office of the Navajo Nation President and Vice President stated.

The Navajo Nation Council held a special session March 8 to discuss changing the election dates from Aug. 6 to July 30. The legislation passed 8-6 and was signed into law by Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren on March 19.

The change will only apply to the 2024 primary election, according to the Navajo Nation Council.

The Navajo Nation Election Code states that primary elections on the Navajo Nation are held on the first Tuesday in August for any year in which a general election is held and at which candidates for public office are to be elected.

Arizona has one of the largest Indigenous voting populations in the country, with more than 305,000 of voting age, according to the National Congress of American Indians. Indigenous people make up 6% of Arizona’s overall population.

Indigenous people in Arizona didn’t have the right to vote until 1948, when the Arizona Supreme Court overturned a ban. But even after gaining that right, Native voters still face obstacles to casting their ballot, from voter suppression to racial discrimination.

Casting a vote at a polling location on the Navajo Nation is much different than driving to a polling station in the Phoenix area, where the majority of Arizona’s voters live. The Navajo Nation is 27,000 square miles, making it the largest tribal land mass in the country, with a majority of that land in Arizona.

Polling locations are scattered; for some voters, driving to their closest polling place could take an hour. Polling locations are only one obstacle that impacts Navajo voters, which could make it complicated if two elections had to be held for Navajo voters in Arizona.

“If there are two election dates, the Navajo Nation won’t get the voter turnout for chapter positions, school board positions, and other important elected positions,” Coconino County Supervisor Lena Fowler said during the special session. “It would create confusion.”

By having the Navajo Nation primary election in sync with Arizona’s primary election, Fowler said Navajo voters can go to the polls as they always have and vote in both state and tribal elections simultaneously.

The Navajo Election Administration and the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors oversee elections on the Navajo Nation, and they are responsible for providing notices to Navajo voters regarding election date changes.

“The goal is certainly to have our nation prepared and for a comprehensive voter turnout,” Legislation Sponsor Navajo Nation Council Delegate Andy Nez said in a press release. He added that leaders must educate their community about the date change.

Arizona Native Vote Director Jaynie Parrish said that the Navajo Nation Council’s approval of the election date change maximizes the voting power for state and tribal elections because Navajo voters can help win elections.

“This is more convenient for (Navajo) people to be able to cast their votes for both elections on the same day,” Parrish said, and it’s an excellent way to keep up the momentum.

Arizona Native Vote is a grassroots organization that focuses on increasing civic engagement and election participation in tribal and rural communities, according to their website.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen after November,” Parrish said. “We don’t know who’s going to be in the offices, and we don’t know if they’re going to want to work with tribes.”