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Oklahoma tribes hope voting initiatives increase voter turnout

KOSU | By Katie Hallum (ᏧᏟ)

Published November 4, 2024 at 5:51 AM CST

Young boy holds up paper fan that says "Rock The Native Vote" and "Register To Vote"

Native voters are often ignored by political campaigns. U.S. Census Bureau data of voters by race leaves them out of their racial profile data.

For example, in 2020, CNN listed Native Americans as “Something Else” when broadcasting exit polling.

This underrepresentation stems from historically low voter turnout, often caused by economic, social and geographical barriers.

Despite this, Indigenous voters have historically been important in swing states. The Navajo Nation is credited for President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Arizona.

Here in Oklahoma, Indigenous voters are especially important. In the 2023 legislative session, a handful of bills involved tribal sovereignty, with several landing in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Additionally, Oklahoma’s legislature bolsters important political figures who are tribal citizens, such as Gov. Kevin Stitt of the Cherokee Nation, U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin of the Cherokee Nation, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole of the Chickasaw Nation and Rep. Ajay Pittman of the Seminole Nation.

This year's ballot asks Oklahomans if they want to keep the same Oklahoma Supreme Court justices Noma Gurich, Yvonee Kauger and James Edmondson, who voted favorably for the tribes. Earlier this year, the justices voted to allow tribes to extend multiple compacts with the state.

The Cherokee Nation has a long-standing initiative called “Cherokee Vote,” aimed at encouraging Cherokee citizens to vote and educating them on policies affecting tribal sovereignty.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. hopes it's enough to make a difference.

“I think Natives across the country can make a difference. For us, though, there's also some down-the-ballot matters of interest,” Hoskin said. “I really think sovereignty is uniquely on the ballot in Oklahoma. So there's lots of reasons that we should move Natives to the polls, both locally in Oklahoma and across the country.”

Other tribes, such as the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, have encouraged and reminded tribal citizens to vote by showing them how to register in their monthly magazine.

State-wide initiatives, such as the bi-partisan group Rock The Native Vote and the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma’s Warrior Up To Vote campaign, have gone on a tour across the state, registering tribal citizens en masse.

According to the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, these efforts have largely been successful.