In Montana, though the state went for Trump overall, counties overlapping with the reservations of the Blackfeet Nation, Fort Belknap Tribes, the Crow Tribe and Northern Cheyenne Tribe went blue. The divides were often stark; Glacier County, encompassed by the Blackfeet Nation, went for Biden by 64%, the highest in the entire state, while its neighboring county voted for Trump by 75%. The Native vote in Montana has made the difference before, when Indigenous voters helped Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat who has advocated for Indian Country in legislation regarding water settlements, missing and murdered Indigenous women, and tribal recognition, get elected the last three terms in often-close races.
https://missoulacurrent.com/government/2020/11/native-vote/Analysis: Native American voters in Montana turned out for Joe Biden, Democrats
Nora Mabie Great Falls Tribune
Published 8:08 a.m. MT Nov. 11, 2020 |
Updated 9:47 a.m. MT Nov. 11, 2020
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Four counties in Montana - Glacier, Blaine, Big Horn and Roosevelt - have a majority Native American population. All four supported Democratic candidates. Turnout was up about three percentage points in the four heavily Native counties, compared to around 5% in other counties. Montana reported a record turnout of 608,885 votes, which is 91,984 more votes than the 516,901 ballots counted in the 2016 election, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Election Day was Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Though the four majority Native American counties had a greater turnout than in 2016, turnout in these counties was lower than the state's record 81.3% turnout. Blaine County had a 75.9% voter turnout; Glacier County had a 69% turnout; Roosevelt County's turnout was 67.5% and Big Horn had 64.8% voter turnout.
‘We face adversity': Despite barriers, Native American voters can swing Montana's elections. For many, Native Americans supporting Democrats is not surprising. A recent survey of more than 6,000 Indigenous people nationwide conducted by the Native-led nonprofit IllumiNative, the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute and the Native Organizers Alliance revealed 51% of Native Americans identify as Democrats, 7% as Republicans and 26% are independent and considered swing votes.
Judith LeBlanc, director of the Native Organizers Alliance, said there was a historic turnout among Native voters in the 2020 election, especially among first-time voters. “Our communities have been ravaged by COVID-19 with under-resourced health services; our sacred places destroyed; and our votes and voices suppressed," she wrote in an email to the Tribune. "Native peoples and Mother Earth could not take another four years of abuse and negligence from the federal government. All of this inspired people to vote and organizers to mobilize in record-breaking numbers, and we voted in alignment with our values, priorities and needs as Native peoples.”
https://www.greatfallstr ibune.com/story/news/2020/11/11/election-2020-montana-native-american-voters-joe-biden-democrats/6163692002/
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