Failure of democracy: Apache County voters speak out on Election Day challenges

Robert Bettis
Navajo Times

CHINLE – Apache County residents gathered this week at a public hearing to share their frustrations and challenges encountered during the November 2024 election. The hearing, held at Navajo Technical University in Chinle on Monday night, focused on concerns regarding voter disenfranchisement within the Navajo Nation.

Testimonies from local voters highlighted a variety of obstacles, ranging from voter registration errors and inadequate language assistance to machine malfunctions and accessibility issues for elders and individuals with disabilities. These accounts underscored the systemic failures that hindered voters’ ability to participate in the election process.

Voter registration errors, geographic discrepancies

The first major issue discussed involved voter registration discrepancies caused by faulty geographic mapping. Leonard Gorman, the executive director of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, shared his personal experience with voter registration confusion. Despite voting at the Nazlini Chapter House for years, Gorman was informed that his precinct had been moved to Canyon de Chelly.

“For decades, I’ve voted at the Nazlini Chapter House with no problems, but this time, I was told my polling place was Canyon de Chelly. How did this happen?” Gorman said. He reported that many others in the area experienced similar issues, forcing voters to either wait in long lines at the wrong location or travel to a different polling place.

Technical difficulties, long wait times

Long wait times were another major concern voiced by attendees. Council Delegate Andy Nez arrived early at his polling place but encountered confusion over separate lines for tribal and state elections. “It took about 30 minutes just to figure out which line to stand in,” Nez said. Even though he was fifth in line, Nez waited nearly an hour before he was able to cast his vote because of technical difficulties with the voting machines.

This issue was echoed by others, including Speaker Crystalyne Curley, who reported that nine communities experienced similar problems throughout the day. “Starting as early as 7 a.m., there were printing issues. It was complete chaos,” Curley said.
Nez added that some voters faced wait times of two to three hours, with others forced to leave without casting a ballot because of time constraints. “It’s hard to know how many votes were lost because of this,” he said.

Inadequate Navajo language assistance

Another critical issue raised was the lack of proper Navajo language support, both on voting machines and ballots, which is required under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act.

Gorman recounted his experience with an express voting machine that malfunctioned, providing only a repeated message that failed to offer any meaningful translation of the ballot. He also noted that translations for complex ballot items, such as those related to abortion rights, were inaccurate and culturally insensitive. “How dare they treat us like this? It’s a disservice to our people and a violation of our rights,” Gorman said.

Physical accessibility barriers

The hearing also highlighted concerns about physical accessibility at polling places, especially for elderly voters and those with disabilities. One attendee shared an experience of an elder nearly falling at the entrance to a polling place because of uneven terrain, narrow pathways, and insufficient lighting. The lack of accessibility features like ramps and adequate heating at polling locations was another common complaint.

“We have an event center. Chinle has the Wildcat Den. There are other locations that could potentially be better resources than our local chapter houses,” Nez suggested, pointing out that more consideration should be given to selecting polling sites that are more accessible to all voters.

Call for election reform

Throughout the hearing, participants expressed frustration over these recurring issues and questioned whether meaningful reforms would ever be implemented. The meeting ended with a strong call for accountability and immediate reforms ahead of the next election cycle.

In response to these concerns, community members are encouraged to report their experiences to the Navajo Department of Justice, which has filed two lawsuits against Apache County to protect voting rights.

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