Election office has language problem in preparing for upcoming fluency election
Ballots are recounted in the conference room of the Election Administration Office on Thursday. The recount was prompted by the Shirley administration. (Times photo-Stacy Thacker)
WINDOW ROCK
The Navajo Election Administration has a problem as it prepares to hold the July 21 special referendum on the Navajo fluency problem – problems that center around the Navajo language.
Edison Wauneka, director of the NEA, said the staff is having a problem translating the question that was approved by the Navajo Nation Council into the Navajo language.
The language approved by the council changes the qualifications for a person running for president or vice-president to read: “Must be able to speak and understand the Navajo and English languages and this ability shall be determined by the Navajo voter when he/she casts a ballot.”
The “Navajo voter,” or each individual voter, will decide with their own judgment whether or not a candidate is a qualified applicant, in regards to the candidate’s Navajo fluency.
Prior to the change, the courts decided on a candidate’s Navajo fluency qualification.
Wauneka said the election office plans to consult with experts in the Navajo language to get a consensus on the translation of this into Navajo so they can use it in their radio broadcasts to educate voters on what the referendum is all about.
The election office plans to produce a number of radio spots to educate Navajo voters on this issue, running in the weeks before the election.
The office has a budget for those spots and Wauneka said he expects the cost to run between $5,000 to $10,000 over the next few weeks.
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