General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNavajos, Apaches Working to Deny Trump Electoral College Victory
This was posted on Daily Kos. I have contributed. It seems like a very strategic effort with small contributions yielding big results.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/11/7/1897855/-Navajos-Apaches-Working-to-Deny-Trump-Electoral-College-Victory
Native American organizers are spreading out through the sprawling Navajo and Apache Reservations of Arizona to find the votes needed to thwart President Trumps Electoral College hopes and return the U.S. Senate to Democratic control.
The Navajo Reservation is the size of West Virginia and the two major Apache Reservations have an area the size of Connecticut. Though hard to reach, their population of approximately 200,000 in Arizona can provide the votes needed to swing Arizonas crucial 11 electoral votes to the Democratic candidate. Trump has no path to victory if he loses Arizona. Also, Mark Kelly, former astronaut and husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, will be elected to the U.S. Senate with a strong Reservation vote.
With the help of 1,900 individual small donors from throughout the U.S., organizers are now on the ground in Tuba City and Window Rock on the Navajo Reservation and Whiteriver and Cibecue in Apache country. Rollouts this year will bring additional Native organizers to the Navajo communities of Chinle and Kayenta.
Early in 2020, organizers will be added to Cameron, Dilkon, Pinon and the Four Corners region on the Navajo Reservation and an additional campaign worker on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
Participation in U.S. elections is relatively new to Arizona Native Americans. Though the 14th Amendment after the Civil War made everyone born in the U.S. a citizen, Arizona conservatives denied Natives the right to vote by telling them, You are not people.
That blatantly racist view was overturned when Natives returning from World War II service sued. Sen. Tom Udalls grandfather, an Arizona Supreme Court judge, ruled that Natives could vote. But it is often still a struggle for Natives to vote. Some, living on the land as much as 40 miles from a paved road, have no convenient way to register or vote. Others face language barriers and other hurdles to getting their votes counted.
However, Native communities in Arizona vote as much as 98% in favor of Democrats.
Could you please help us get this job done. Small contributions are very helpful.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/navajoncof#
Arizona is widely believed to be trending blue, largely because Maricopa County (Phoenix) is polling Democratic. Pima County (Tucson) has long been a Democratic stronghold. So the work remaining to do is to overcome the Republican advantage in a few rural towns like Prescott and Kingman. The Navajos and Apaches have enough votes to do that, especially if they are registered and organized.
We have raised enough grassroots money to fund the program through March 2020, and are now working on $52,800 to fund the program for April, May and June 2020. Thank you for your help.
In a prelude of what is to come, Navajos won an important election in San Juan County Utah on Tuesday. After a long struggle put two Navajos on the three-member county commission, the county decided to hold a referendum on a study to change the countys form of government to deny Navajos control.
With the help of the Navajo Nation leadership, Utah Democrats, Arizona Democrats and local Navajo leaders, the measure was defeated with an election night vote total of 1614 Yes, 1735 No. There are votes remaining to be counted, but mostly from Navajo precincts.
This recent experience shows that organized Navajos can win hard-fought elections.
oswaldactedalone
(3,491 posts)such as Steyer and Bloomberg would fund this and other GOTV efforts instead of wasting time running in elections they cant win.
Salviati
(6,009 posts)Wish they would quit their ego trip and help out in ways that actually mattered.
Sign me up for a couple of bucks.
lastlib
(23,309 posts)Truly a small price to pay to a) bring democracy closer to our Native Americans, and, of course, b) keep AnusMouth Shitgibbon from winning a second term.
srobertss
(261 posts)The other effort that could be critical is outreach to Puerto Ricans who have moved to Florida. I dont know if there is any organized effort going on, but it seems like that could be pivotal.
Merlot
(9,696 posts)Pacifist Patriot
(24,654 posts)50 Shades Of Blue
(10,053 posts)More_Cowbell
(2,191 posts)Thanks for the post.
PatrickforO
(14,593 posts)Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)Political clout after their major Political Victory in Southeast Utah in 2018. History was made when they took control of the County in which their Reservation is located.
SergeStorms
(19,204 posts)How sweet it would be if Native Americans played a big part in defeating the Orange Anus.
alwaysinasnit
(5,075 posts)dawg day
(7,947 posts)I donated.
eggplant
(3,913 posts)I hope it helps!
Demovictory9
(32,475 posts)stopdiggin
(11,377 posts)where a little bit of money could really make a difference.
(admittedly I know diddly about AZ politics .. but regardless the results .. enfranchising people is a positive by any yardstick. use to be a core value for ALL political stripes. and the NA community should be getting the same opportunity as all others to exercise their rights. this is not only a good thing .. it is the right thing.)
Thanks for posting. I'm in for a few bucks.
NBachers
(17,149 posts)crickets
(25,983 posts)Wounded Bear
(58,721 posts)and how the Native Americans had their polling places taken away, and how their registrations were fucked with because of some technicality with how they had done addresses on the res for decades. All of a sudden, their voter registrations were in question because of that.
For Repubs, Native Americans are just another minority who needs their votes suppressed.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,654 posts)bluecollar2
(3,622 posts)I'm in...