OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (AP) 鈥� A new study has found that systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in particularly for presidential elections.
The study, released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice, looked at 21 states with federally recognized tribal lands that have a population of at least 5,000 and where more than 20% of residents identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. Researchers found that between 2012 and 2022, voter participation in federal elections was 7 percentage points lower in midterms and 15 percentage points lower in presidential elections than among those living off tribal lands in the same states.
Earlier studies show voter turnout for communities of color is higher in areas where their ethnic group is the majority, but the latest research found that turnout was the lowest on tribal lands that have a high concentration of Native Americans, the Brennan Center said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something more intensely happening in Native American communities on tribal land,鈥� said Chelsea Jones, a researcher on the study.
Jones said the study suggests some barriers may be insurmountable in predominately Native communities due to a lack of adequate polling places or access to early and mail-in ballots. Many residents on tribal lands meaning they don't have street names or house numbers, As a result, many Native American voters rely on P.O. boxes, but the study notes that several jurisdictions will not mail ballots to P.O. boxes.
Long distances to the polls that do exist on tribal lands and little to no public transportation creates additional hurdles for Native American voters. In far-flung Alaska Native villages, if there's no one available to run an election, and severe weather can make absentee voting unreliable, The Associated Press reported last month.
鈥淲hen you think about people who live on tribal lands having to go 30, 60, 100 miles (up to 160 kilometers) to cast a ballot, that is an extremely limiting predicament to be in," Jones said. "These are really, truly severe barriers.鈥�
Additionally, Jones said they found Native American voters were denied the ability to vote using their tribal IDs in several places, including in states where that is legally allowed. All of these roadblocks to the ballot can create a sense of distrust in the system, which could contribute to lower turnout, Jones said.
The Brennan Center study also highlights on ongoing issue when it comes to understanding how or why Native Americans vote: a lack of good data.
鈥淭here are immense data inequities when it comes to studying Native American communities, especially as it pertains to politics," Jones said.
Native American communities are often overlooked when it comes to polling data and sometimes when they are included those studies do not reflect broader trends for Indigenous voters, said Stephanie Fryberg, the director of the Research for Indigenous Social Action & Equity Center, which studies systemic inequalities faced by Indigenous people.
鈥淕enerally speaking, polling is not well positioned to do a good job for Indian Country,鈥� said Fryberg, who is also a professor of psychology at Northwestern University. 鈥淭here are ideas that are held up as the gold standard about how polling works that don鈥檛 work for Indian Country because of where we live, because of how difficult it is to connect to people in our community.鈥�
Fryberg, a member of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington state, was one of several Indigenous researchers who denounced a recent exit poll conducted by Edison Research that found 65% of Native American voters who participated said they voted for Donald Trump. The poll only surveyed 229 self-identified Native Americans, a sample size that she said is too small for an accurate reading, and none of the jurisdictions in the poll were on tribal lands.
鈥淩ight there, you鈥檙e already eliminating a powerful perspective,鈥� Fryberg said.
The Indigenous Journalists Association labelled that polling data as 鈥渉ighly misleading and irresponsible,鈥� saying it has led 鈥渢o widespread misinformation.鈥�
In a statement to the Associated Press, Edison Research acknowledged that the polling size is small, but said the "goal of the survey is to represent the national electorate and to have enough data to also examine large demographic and geographic subgroups." The survey has a potential sampling margin of error of plus or minus 9%, according to the statement.
鈥淏ased on all of these factors, this data point from our survey should not be taken as a definitive word on the American Indian vote,鈥� the statement reads.
Native Americans are not just part of an ethnic group, they also have political identities that come with being citizens of sovereign nations. Fryberg said allowing those surveyed to self-identify as Native Americans, without follow-up questions about tribal membership and specific Indigenous populations, means that data cannot accurately capture voting trends for those communities.
Both Fryberg and Jones said that in order to create better data on and opportunities for Native Americans to vote, researchers and lawmakers would have to meet the specific needs of Indigenous communities. Jones said passage of the Native American Voting Rights Act, a bill that has stalled in Congress, would ensure equitable in-person voting options in every precinct on tribal lands.
鈥淭his is not an issue that we see across the country,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very specific to tribal lands. So we need provisions that address that uniquely.鈥�
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This story has been updated to correct the name of the Tulalip Tribes.
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Graham Lee Brewer is an Oklahoma City-based member of the AP's Race and Ethnicity team.
Graham Lee Brewer, The Associated Press
