Lakota Forward PAC has one more challenge to overcoming voter frustration and getting out the vote on Pine Ridge: the Oglala Sioux Tribal Election Commission just threw out the OST primary election results from October 6 and called for a revote on November 3.
The “voting irregularities” appear to have been a screw-up by their election services provider, as explained in this draft resolution from the OST Finance Committee’s October 8 meeting:
“Electronic Software Systems”—I can Google up no such company. Might OST mean “Election Systems & Software“?
This election error was not caused by non-citizens or vote-counting machines or any of the other false threats Republicans furiously wave to push their election-suppression tactics; it came from human error, which election officials and voters caught. But this error does create frustration for voters and candidates who thought they’d done their work on October 6 and now have to revote on November 3.
On the good side, the Oglala Sioux Tribe primary revote coincides with the general election, would ought to translate into higher turnout. On the bad side, it pushes the OST general off the statewide general election date to November 17, when voters may not turn out nearly as eagerly.
Why don’t those Republicans just post a “no Indians allowed” sign the way they used too? I remember those all over the place. I was in college and the boys were thirsty, we were in Plankington and the only bar we could find had that sign. I won’t say what we did.
In an effort to reverse voter apathy in Indian Country the Montana Democratic Party became the first state party to formally include Indigenous as equitable partners. Montana is home to 12 Indigenous languages three of which are at risk of going extinct after Donald Trump weaponized a novel coronavirus strain killing many Assiniboine, Gros Ventre and Montana Salish elders.
President Joe Biden restored the White House Tribal Nations Summit after Herr Trump declared war on Indian Country and undercounted Indigenous Americans because Earth hating Republicans want citizens to believe democracy isn’t for everybody.
American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Native American Rights Fund sued to reverse another attempt to restrict Indigenous people from voting.
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/montana-court-blocks-law-limiting-indigenous-voters-access-to-election-day-registration/
SAD when a super majority has to cheat. Nothing to be proud of in SD society.