Political rallies and large-scale "get out the vote" events might conjure images of a packed arena in a major city but in states like North Dakota, groups connecting with Indigenous voters are bridging key messaging with entertainment.

This week, several hundred people packed a venue at the Spirit Lake Casino in St. Michael, where they were treated to a mix of popular music from well-known regional acts like Scotti Clifford to traditional drum music. It was all part of the "Snag the Vote" tour moving through the region.

Kirstin Cavanaugh, vice chair of the group North Dakota Native Vote, said between the guitar solos and singing was a reminder to participate in the election.

"We're working on getting that information for the voters to just basically have their voices heard," Cavanaugh explained.

In the 2018 midterms, North Dakota saw a surge in voter turnout in Indian Country after the state adopted a new restrictive Voter ID law, adding to long-standing barriers for people living on reservations. Rallies back then also featured big-name entertainers. The turnout regressed in 2020, with the effects of COVID-19.

Voters are often encouraged to pay attention to local races and not devote all their time to monitoring federal elections. But Cavanaugh acknowledged they sometimes have to reverse the order when reaching out to tribal populations, reminding them the race for the White House affects them, too.

"It's just been eye-opening for people where they're starting to be like, 'OK, yes, I want to be involved, I need to be involved with this,'" Cavanaugh observed.

At this week's outreach event, organizers gathered more than 250 "pledge to vote" commitments. Cavanaugh added while their efforts are vital just before an election, North Dakota Native Vote works year-round.

The saga over votes in a North Carolina Supreme Court election continues, with potentially damaging effects for the state's democracy.

While the race is still uncertified, the current loser of the November election - Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin - wants more than 60,000 ballots thrown out.

He's challenging most of the votes from voters he says incorrectly filled out registration forms.

But Jennifer Rubin, president of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, said this is an attempt to invalidate votes after an election.

"Which is really unprecedented," said Rubin, "and there is no real valid reason for these votes to be discounted after an election, after they've been legitimately, legally cast."

The League of Women Voters of North Carolina filed a friend of the court brief in defense of voters in the case.

Griffin is currently behind Democratic Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs by a little more than 700 votes. The case is in both federal and state courts.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing oral arguments today to decide whether to send the case back to the state.

Rubin said regardless of the outcome, the current fight over the race impacts how people see elections.

"These kinds of actions sow distrust in people's minds in the election process," said Rubin, "and it also should be a real alarm for North Carolina voters that something like this could happen."

Rubin noted that unfortunately, this could be a playbook used in future elections too.

"We're concerned beyond this race," said Rubin, "that this is a trend that could potentially continue as an attempt to invalidate voters."

A bill in Olympia would further expand Washington state's automatic voter registration process.

Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, introduced Senate Bill 5077 to allow the governor to widen automatic voter registration to more government agencies. Proponents said nearly a million eligible voters in Washington are not registered.

Abigail Leong, communications manager for the Washington Voting Justice Coalition, testified Tuesday in support of the measure. She said the unregistered are typically new citizens, low-income, or people with convictions who are less likely to get enhanced driver's licenses, where they would be automatically registered.

"By automatically registering people to vote when they become citizens, apply for health care or return home from prison, we take the burden of registration off of potential voters," Leong asserted.

Leong argued the bill would also save the state time and money. One opponent of the bill testified the legislation would make the state's elections less secure. The bill is scheduled for an executive session tomorrow in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections.

Jacob Schmitt, founder and director of the nonprofit Just Us Solutions, was formerly incarcerated. He testified in support of the bill, saying people who are released from incarceration often struggle with technology.

"Anything that we can do to strategically set people up coming out of incarceration to be involved with the civic process is something that we should do," Schmitt contended. "I say we should do this because every barrier that we remove that would otherwise frustrate them or make them feel disenfranchised is something that makes them feel like they're part of the community."

Hailey Wu, community engagement coordinator for Asian Counseling and Referral Service, said expanded automatic voter registration would help immigrant communities in Washington state as well.

"Immigrant families face countless challenges, like discrimination, a long road to citizenship and language barrier that prevent them from fully connecting with their new community," Wu explained. "Sadly, many of our community, they don't receive enough voter outreach, so they need more support to register accurately and on time for Election Day."

A Montana District Court this week issued a preliminary injunction maintaining the public's right to know about legislative bills but the case will need to be revisited for a final decision.

The Montana Constitution protects the public's right to review bill draft files. Last year, the Legislative Services Division made a policy restricting the right, arguing legislators have the right to prevent the public from seeing those files.

Anne Hedges, policy and legislative director for the Montana Environmental Information Center, a plaintiff in the case, said the policy is counter to the state constitution, which was written to keep the public "front and center in our government."

"They are the ones that elected officials are supposed to be representing and working on behalf of," Hedges pointed out. "They have a right to know and a right to participate in government decision-making."

Hedges noted her organization won a case on similar grounds in 1995. The injunction this week will maintain the right to know through the current legislative session but litigation will likely be needed to reach a final decision.

Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, founder and executive director of Upper Seven Law, an attorney for the plaintiffs, noted access to bill drafts is important for the public but also for legislative staff, lobbyists and the press, who she said joined the lawsuit with separate representation.

"If you don't have access to the information that you need in a timely manner, it will impact your ability to participate effectively in the lawmaking process," Sommers-Flanagan contended.

She added the Montana Constitution, adopted in 1972, has some of the strongest protections for such rights in the country.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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