Candidate filing opens as Navajo Nation shifts primary to July 21
WINDOW ROCK
The Navajo Nation has moved its 2026 presidential primary to July 21 to align with Arizona’s state and county elections, and candidate filing opens next week, according to the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors.
The change follows Arizona’s decision to move its own primary date, said Tonia Burbank, a voter registration specialist for the Fort Defiance Agency.
“The state of Arizona, they changed their primary election day,” Burbank said. “So the Navajo Nation wanted to change their primary election day to the same day as Arizona. So it went through the Council. The Council approved it. And then it went to the president’s office and he approved it.”
Under Navajo election law, prospective candidates may pick up applications and file at any Navajo Election Administration office during a 14-day window that opens at 8 a.m. April 9 and closes at 5 p.m. April 22. Filing fees are $1,500 for presidential and vice presidential candidates and $500 for Council delegate candidates.
Positions open for filing include president, Council delegate, Navajo Board of Education and Board of Election Supervisors.
Because the Navajo Nation spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the new July 21 primary date applies to only Navajo voters in Arizona, said Burbank. Navajo voters in New Mexico will cast ballots in their state primary June 2, while Navajo voters in Utah will vote June 23.
The split calendar means the Navajo Election Administration will manage three separate primary timelines.
Asked whether the administration has the funding to handle the added workload, Burbank said the election will move forward regardless.
“Well, it’s going to have to happen regardless,” Burbank said. “It’s gonna happen on July 21st.”
Voter registration for the primary closes at 5 p.m. June 4. Navajos who are not yet registered with their local chapter house must do so by then to participate.
Absentee voting, by mail and in person, begins June 15. Requests for mail-in absentee ballots must be physically received by an election office by 5 p.m. July 6. In-person absentee voting ends July 17.
On primary day, all 110 chapter houses will serve as polling places from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After the primary, candidates must file campaign expense statements by July 31. Any grievances over the conduct of the election also must be filed with the Office of Hearings and Appeals by that date. Election results are expected to be certified after July 31.
The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3. Voter registration for the general election closes Sept. 24, and absentee voting will run from Oct. 5 through Oct. 30.
Voters must be at least 18 and registered with their local chapter house.
The election will determine whether Nygren, who took office in January 2023 after defeating Nez by roughly 3,500 votes, will seek a second term. He has not publicly announced whether he will run again.
Nez, who served as president from 2019 to 2023 and led the Navajo Nation through the COVID-19 pandemic, has since announced a bid for the Democratic nomination in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District.
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