Advocating for Native voter rights, overcoming barriers, and building legislative influence

RAPID CITY – There are already enough barriers for Native voters, but concerns have been growing over efforts to suppress voter access further, from the federal to the state level. Organizations are partnering to educate Native voters about legislative advocacy as well as the recommended solutions to these ongoing barriers.

This past March, Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring “documentary proof of citizenship” for those using the federal voter registration form. This is a problem for many citizens who don’t have this proof. Last month, following a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump announced that he would lead a movement to get rid of mail in ballots.

This summer, the ACLU of South Dakota (ACLUSD) confronted South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson for releasing a voter registration database that included “source of registration.” South Dakota lawmakers had passed a bill that would require the publication of the statewide voter registration file to be made available to the public for free. Access had previously cost more than two thousand dollars. Information prohibited from being made public were social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, non-driver ID or birthdate information. But the law does not protect voter’s source of information. A source of information is any person, place publication or object that provides knowledge or details about a particular topic, event, or person. The seven thousand individuals who were impacted by the breach happened to be people who had registered to vote while applying for public assistance, specifically SNAP, TANF, or WIC, according to reporting from Dakota News Now, the Argus Leader and South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

Because of valid and growing concerns, a number of groups recently sponsored a morning legislative advocacy and voting rights restoration training in Rapid City. The 15 or so people in attendance were mostly from the sponsoring organizations – the Campaign Legal Center or CLC which is an organization Advancing Democracy Through Law, the Communities Organizing for Unified Power also known as COUP Council, and He Sapa Voters Project, a non-profit launched by COUP to get indigenous voters registered and mobilized, and South Dakota state Representative Peri Pourier.

Kelsey Rogers the CLC Senior Manager for State Advocacy talked about the importance of lobbying. Lobbying is the act of an individual or group attempting to influence decision-making legislation. She said lobbying is essential to advocacy, but it has “gotten a bad rap. A lot of people, when they think of lobbying or what a lobbyist does they think of backdoor, shady type deals, and expensive dinners on K Street with influential billionaires. But in fact, constituent lobbying makes up a large percentage of daily lobbying activities.”

Rogers said there are four main objectives to effective constituent lobbying. They include building connections and relationships, positioning yourself as a subject matter expert, and being able to persuade your audience. She said it’s important to be authentic.

Preparation is essential. “You will have lot of homework and research to do. Use the South Dakota legislative website, search your legislator or the legislators who are going to be meeting. Familiarize yourself with the bills that they have sponsored, their voting record on democracy and their voting records. This will give you a sense of their perspective on mail-in ballots, for instance.”

Finding a reliable source of news can be difficult. “Google News is your friend,” said Rogers. Google News is not a primary source but is an aggregator of news. Using algorithms, it collects and organizes news stories from thousands of publishers. “This enables you to search a legislator and their voting record and get a collection of articles,” said Rogers. These algorithms are designed to elevate content from authoritative sources, according to Google.

Preparation is essential so it’s expected that you will enter a meeting with reference materials that you printed out. “You aren’t a robot and expected to remember everything. And don’t be afraid to ask others if you don’t understand a specific measure.” Rogers said it’s important to avoid some of the embarrassing mistakes that can happen in a lobbying meeting, and being prepared will help avoid those situations.

She advised that part of that preparation is being familiar with government buildings, campuses, and security procedures. “Government buildings are large and can be tricky to navigate. Leave yourself fifteen to twenty minutes to navigate all those steps.”

Most elected officials are on some sort of social media. Rogers said it’s important to also be using social media to be able to follow officials. She said it’s not wise to spend many hours searching their entire history but scrolling through their social media can help you understand their position.

There was also a discussion about the lobbying rules regarding organizations who hold non-profit status. Natalie Stites Means (Cheyenn River), executive director of COUP Council said that they are able to express opinions on public policy and legislation but there is concern that doing so would jeopardize that non-profit status. “Constituent and grass-roots lobbying is another way to address issues.” Part of that discussion included consulting legal experts rather than the South Dakota Secretary of State.

Rogers suggested perhaps CLC could take a look at this. “In terms of writing up a memo with some of the guidance for work for non-profits in South Dakota.”

Jean Roach (Cheyenne River), associate director for organizing for COUP Council, spoke about voter eligibility for those who are incarcerated or on parole. If a conviction is a misdemeanor, the applicant retains their right to vote and may register to vote at any time, including while in jail. Some who have been incarcerated may not be eligible to vote. CLC also offers a rights restoration tool on their website.

According to the Brennan Center For Justice, millions of Americans don’t have proof of their citizenship – passport, birth certificate, or naturalization papers – readily available. Reasons might be that they are in the home of another family member or in a safety deposit box. The Center says that at least 3.8 million in 2024 didn’t have these documents at all, often because they were lost, destroyed, or stolen. Brennan also found racial disparities.

While a Pew Research study in 2024 found that voters overwhelmingly reported a positive experience with elections administration in their local communities, there are many who are disproportionately impacted by restrictive voting laws. It may be that new data shows voting in America has gotten easier, but for Native communities, issues of access remain persistent and chronic.

There is still a lack of polling places and voter registration locations on Tribal lands. Combined with geographic isolation and insufficient physical infrastructure makes it difficult for Native voters to vote and cast ballots in person, compounded by poor treatment members often experience in the voting places in border town.

Postal service remains slow and inadequate. There’s a lack of home mail delivery on reservations which make mail voting and mail registration inaccessible. Polling places are often moved shortly before elections and without adequate notice to voters, causing voters to show up at the wrong locations and not now where to cast their ballots.

Identification is a barrier to many eligible and legal voters. State-issued ID’s can be difficult to get because of cost and distance. Even where Tribal ID is sufficient, local officials often improperly reject it due to biases or insufficient training.

Many homes on reservations still don’t have standard street addresses. These are just a few of the chronic issues.

Unfortunately, Representative Peri Pourier (Oglala Lakota) said there are new bills that have already limited access or seek to limit access: HB 1024, which was passed, limits voters with P.O. Box addresses to federal only votes. SB 185, which also became law, allows a voter eligibility challenger process. HB 1103, failed, but it sought to shorten the voter registration period. A bill to require documentary proof of citizenship, another to prohibit voting centers and a bill that would get rids of the no-excuse absentee voting all failed.

Pourier, who is serving her final term as she is term-limited, said when she began serving in the South Dakota legislature, there was a small fringe of right-wing extremists, who pushed extremist policies. “They were very methodical and knew exactly what they were doing, inching step by step by step. Their chaos is planned.” She said she watched many introduce extreme bills because it helps them to gain influence or retain their power, independent of the success of any sponsored legislation. “The extreme right, which used to be a small fringe, has become a larger force in the Republican caucus.” Pourier emphasized that organization is crucial at both the state legislative level and the local district planning level.

Interested volunteers can contact CLC, COUP Council or He Sapa Voters for more information.

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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