LAS VEGAS — All Voting is Local Nevada and Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada are demanding Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske implement election-related changes, such as publicizing the list of tribes that have requested a voting location, to address long-standing barriers to the ballot for Native American voters in the state.
In a letter sent Monday, the groups outlined how Nevada’s tribal communities have long suffered from barriers to voting, from a lack of ballot drop boxes in their communities to insufficient voter registration options. The groups requested that Cegavske provide:
- A public and up-to-date list of tribes that are eligible for a polling place or that have applied for a polling place.
- An additional 27 ballot drop boxes for each of Nevada’s tribal nations, colonies, and bands.
- Guidance and oversight for local election officials on consulting with tribes in election planning in order to ensure Native American voters have equitable access to voting.
- Updates to the state’s online voter registration portal to accept tribal IDs as a form of identification.
- A ballot drop box option on the state’s tribal Polling Location Request Form.
- Update the Nevada Secretary of State tribal polling place request webpage to reflect the newly updated deadlines from the passage of AB 321.
“Nevada voters deserve clear and direct information from your office, and our organizations expect a timely response to the above concerns and the asks we have laid out,” the groups wrote. “The Native American community has suffered voter disenfranchisement for far too long, and it is past time that election officials do more for this community than the bare minimum.”
The full letter can be found here.