2014: Minnesota Adds Early Voting on Indian Reservations
The Problem
“If you’re a member of the Red Lake Indian Reservation in northwestern Minnesota, voting early in an election isn’t easy. The closest voting booth is 35 miles away, in Bemidji. You’ve got to have a car, which can be scarce. You’ve got to drive those miles, park, head back. Costs can add up quick, just to submit a ballot.”
ROBBIE FEINBERG, MINNEAPOLIS CITY PAGES, 8.28.14
The Solution
The Four Directions approach shows what happens when you leverage tribal relationships, cooperate with local government, and outline potential risks facing counties that refuse to open satellite voting offices.
Four Directions has longstanding relationships with the Minnesota Ojibwe Nations. Those valuable relationships allowed Four Directions to mediate voting rights discussions between local governments and the Tribes. In Four Directions fashion, we conducted several meetings with county officials to identify their concerns.
The Tribes provided options to take local government’s concerns off the table. And when some counties continued to balk, we encouraged them to consider the litigation risk they faced by mimicking the anti-Indian actions of other failed defendants in South Dakota and Montana.
Every Minnesota County Four Directions approached agreed to open a satellite voting office in Minnesota in 2014.
Result
Five counties across three Indian reservations offered satellite voting offices for the first time ever, and with Four Directions financial support, the Tribes were able to mount a robust Native vote GOTV operation.
Minnesota Satellite Voting Offices
| Counties | Location | Tribe | Organizers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Itaska | Ball Club Community Center | Leech Lake | 22 |
| Cass | Leech Lake Tribal Office | Leech Lake | 22 |
| Beltrami | Red Lake Tribal Office | Red Lake Nation | 20 |
| Becker | White Earth Tribal Office | White Earth | 16 |
| Mahnomen | Mahnomen | White Earth | 16 |
Partners
Minnesota Pushing Equality by Adding Four Satellite Election Offices
STEPHANIE WOODARD
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY MEDIA NETWORK, 8.6.14
Early Voting Offices Come to Three Reservations
CATHARINE RICHERT
MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO NEWS, 8.20.14
Minnesota finally adds early voting for Indian reservations, but other states struggle
ROBBIE FEINBERG
MINNEAPOLIS CITY PAGES, 8.28.14
Brand-new early voting blitz targets Indian Country
ALLISON SHERRY
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 10.23.14
