The Navajo Nation, which figured prominently in President-Elect Joe Biden’s win in the swing state of Arizona, illustrates three top issues in Election 2020.
One issue is access to the vote. Many tribal members lack the physical address they need to register to vote. They worked with Google to register using GPS coordinates. The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation within the United States and while most of its 17 million acres are in Arizona, it stretches into Utah and New Mexico.
The second issue is COVID-19, which has hit Indigenous people and Navajos in particular especially hard. The tribe has lost many elders and is again dealing with a urge in infections, according to National Public Radio, which told the story. Voter registration forms were distributed in Zip-loc bags to ensure contactless registering.
Finally a campaign to get people to ride to the polls on horseback helped get out younger voters. Navajo voters turnout set a record, despite the obstacles.
You can learn more in “100 Questions, 500 Nations: A Guide to Native America,” available from Amazon or the Front Edge Publishing bookstore.
