Repost of the article written by Missa Foy @MissaNEAZ and myself about our incredible field team on March 15, 2022.
What’s happening in Arizona
The Arizona Republican-controlled state legislature has proposed more than one hundred bills to make it harder for Indigenous and rural voters to cast our ballots. These bills undercut our democracy.
Donate to support Native Get-Out-the-Vote efforts on the Navajo Nation, and Apache and Hopi Tribal lands for the midterms.
Why are they doing this? Because in 2020 we won. Instead of making a better case to voters, Republicans are trying to rig the next election. Republicans are targeting Native voters because we are a powerful bloc in Arizona. Our Native values and Democratic Party ideals are aligned. Of course that relationship is far from perfect, but there are so many connections; family, community, the earth and believing in the idea of more good than harm.
It’s no secret what Republicans are doing; they push lies, embrace false narratives, and stir up chaos and confusion. This is part of a national strategy to stop us – Indigenous, Black, Brown and rural people – from voting. Republicans are afraid of us and our power as voters.
They are doing everything they can to impose restrictions on voting, registration, or even remaining on the voting rolls by narrowing the options for identification and even requiring proof of citizenship. In a pandemic, mail-in voting saved the Democrats and now Republicans are not shy about directly attacking access to mail voting.
One bill we are watching closely seeks to ban the use of secure ballot drop boxes unless they record an image of everyone who uses the dropbox. In rural Arizona drop boxes are the only way some voters are able to return ballots. If a dropbox’s camera malfunctions the ballot box will be unable to accept ballots, disenfranchising those who do not have access to another dropbox or vote center. If we want to restore faith in election security, as the Republicans claim, they need to stop presenting outrageous “solutions” to problems that don’t exist.
The AZ GOP is even suing to put an end to early voting by claiming it’s unconstitutional, a claim straight out of the Big Lie playbook.
Here’s the truth: Arizona has a 30-year history of mail-in ballots.
- In 2020, 90% of Arizonans cast their ballot early by mail.
- In 2020, Indigenous voters in northeastern Arizona more than doubled their use of mail in ballots.
- This attempt to end early voting has one goal: to keep Indigenous and rural voters from casting ballots. Who does that?
Legislating discrimination knew to suppress voting power is nothing in the US, especially when organizing effectively threatens the status quo with genuine and equal representation in Indigenous, Black, Brown, and rural communities.
The Navajo County Democrats and Northeast Arizona Native Democrats have a clear plan for countering these attacks on voting rights:
- We keep organizing.
- We invest in us by hiring local organizers to reach our communities.
- We know our power – we’ve flexed it and can do it again and again.
- We will continue registering our people and talking with voters about how we can stop Republican voter suppression efforts.
- We keep communicating online and offline strategies
- We support and uplift our women, especially our Indigenous Matriarchs
A few weeks ago we launched our incredible, extremely effective grassroots Family Votes program, an initiative that recruits and trains Indigenous Matriarchs as they register their families and communities to vote. We know women make the best advocates and organizers because they lead their families and communities. For generations, they’ve been the civic engagement directors in rural and indigenous communities, but not enough has been done to invest in them. Since 2020 we’ve been changing that narrative by investing in us: our moms, daughters, aunties, and grandmas–our matriarchs. To date, that investment has meant we have:
- Recruited 5 more matriarchs on Navajo and White Mountain Apache lands
- Sent over 18,000 postcards to our communities (thanks, volunteers!)
- Delivered 12+ Family Votes Kits to matriarchs in Window Rock, Fort Defiance and White River.
Indigenous, Black, and Brown voters want change and we are not quiet about it. We know what needs to be done to help us ALL move forward: and moving everyone forward together should be the norm.
Help us beat back these extremist measures today and donate to our field program so we can hire more Native organizers and produce the resources needed to reach voters in tribal and rural communities.
Checks may also be mailed to: Navajo County Democrats PO Box 144, Lakeside, AZ 85929 (928) 224-8021
Thank you so much for standing with Native and rural voters in Arizona and making a significant early investment in Native-led organizing. This work is essential to creating a stronger Democratic Party in Arizona.
Stay connected with us and help amplify the work!
Missa Foy, Chair
Navajo County Democrats
[email protected]
Jaynie Parrish, Executive Director
Navajo County Democrats
[email protected]
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