Lawsuit Filed Against Counties Concerning Tribal Voting
Proponents of Native American’s voting rights filed a lawsuit last week against Roosevelt and Valley counties for failure to provide adequate satellite voting offices in Poplar and Frazer.
Plaintiffs in the case are Sariah Red Eagle, Terry Thompson, Joseph Dolezilek, Angie Toce, Delane Blount and Brandi Long-White. Defendants include the Roosevelt County Commissioners, the Montana Secretary of State, the Roosevelt County Clerk and Recorder, Valley County Commissioners and the Valley County Clerk and Recorder.
“We’re in litigation and working with the Tribes,” Roosevelt County Commissioner Gordon Oelkers said during the regular weekly meeting held on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
According to the lawsuit, Fort Peck Tribes’ Chairman Justin Gray Hawk Sr. notified the Valley County officials earlier this year that the tribes had a satellite office identified in Frazer. The tribes, however, were notified on Sept. 11 that the clerk and recorder’s office couldn’t provide more than one day in Frazer because Valley County contain only a small part of the reservation and the office has limited amount of employees.
The lawsuit continues that, on Sept. 16, plaintiffs submitted letters to both counties requesting the establishment of satellite offices in Frazer and at the tribal headquarters in Poplar. Valley County responded that they could open a satellite office in Frazer for one day. The Roosevelt County Attorney responded that no action was being taken at the time because her office was waiting for a response from the tribes.
The lawsuit claims that the defendants have violated the constitution of the State of Montana by depriving tribal members of their free exercise of the right of suffrage. The lawsuit mentions that tribal members in Roosevelt County travel up to 90 miles round trip from Fort Kipp to Wolf Point to exercise their rights to equal access.
“The result of the counties’ failure to establish satellite offices as the designated locations on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation constitute and unjustifiable burden on the voting rights of tribal members,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit noted that if a temporary restraining order isn’t granted, the defendants’ refusal to establish satellite offices in Poplar and Frazer would cause irreparable harm to tribal members by preventing equal access to the ballot.
Plaintiffs seek for satellite offices to be located in Frazer and Poplar the same hours for late registration and in-person absentee ballot voting as the Valley and Roosevelt county courthouses on Oct. 8 through Nov. 4.
