A political leader in the Navajo community of Rock Point says flood-damaged roads have made it almost impossible for roughly 600 Native American voters to reach a polling site on Election Day.
Intense rainfall caused damaging flooding across the Navajo Nation this past weekend and wiped out roads and bridges across the region. The severe weather hit a day before the midterm elections in Arizona and on the Navajo reservation, where voters are deciding who will be the next chief executive of the tribe.
“I am angry that people won't get a chance to vote,” said Valinda Shirley, the vice president of Rock Point Chapter. “That's not fair. You know, that's every American's right.”
It’s already challenging for Native American voters to reach polling sites in Arizona due to vast distances, unpaved roads and a lack of working vehicles.
Shirley told KNAU on Tuesday that she felt let down by state election officials like Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. She said would-be voters living on the west side of Rock Point can’t drive across roads in the community due to flood damage, and that residents need resources like ATVs and side-by-sides to get them to polling places. She said that she’d heard communities on Black Mesa and in Rough Rock are dealing with the same issues, too.
Calli Jones, the communications director for the Secretary of State’s office, said Navajo residents in Rock Point with immediate needs should seek resources from their local officials.
“Our office has been in communication with the [Apache] County Recorders office and have offered whatever resources we have available,” Jones wrote in a text message. “We recognize that travel has become difficult for many voters and suggest that they urgently contact their city or county elected officials to see what transportation support is available.”
Shirley said she wished tribal authorities, like President Buu Nygren, would do more to help, too.
Nygren’s office did not immediately respond to emailed questions asking what resources — if any — the tribal government will deploy to help flood-impacted communities like Rock Point.
An employee at the Navajo Nation Election Office directed questions about vote center access to the Division of Transportation. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
On Tuesday, Fontes visited cities and towns across northern Arizona to speak with local authorities about the midterms. When asked about tribal members in Rock Point who are hoping to vote, Fontes advised them to seek a vote center that’s more accessible.
“While the polling places may be open, sometimes from some directions there may be less access, and so we're encouraging folks to figure out if there's another polling place that's easier to access, or another vote center, I should say,” said Fontes. “But this is one of the reasons why we really believe in vote centers.”
Fontes pointed out that other voter centers are open and available in communities like Many Farms, 34 miles away, and Round Rock, which is 17 miles away.
But Shirley said finding a closer vote center is not an option. She added that some community members will attempt to walk down to the chapter house in Rock Point to cast their ballots, as opposed to driving.
“We were trying to brainstorm ways to bring people in,” she continued. “We're like, OK, maybe we could get the skid-steer to transport people. Maybe we could get helicopters. Maybe we could get, I don't know, boats or something to come to the voting. And then the last time I spoke with a few of the community members, they're going to walk in as best they can to vote.”
Shirley said Highway 191 is accessible again, but that roads on the west side of Rock Point are largely impassable.
“It's nobody's fault for the natural disaster,” she said. “But I know I have elders that make it a tradition to come out to vote. And today, there are a bunch of people with food, and it's kind of like a nice little festival where people go and they get food, they get to mingle, they get to see one another. It's usually a pretty big community event, especially when we're voting for our presidents.”
