Harvard Law Review: "Securing Indian Voting Rights"

[Mike__M]

[link: http://harvardlawreview.org/2016/04/securing-indian-voting-rights/|SHarvard Law Review]

Securing Indian Voting Rights
Indians routinely face hurdles in exercising the right to vote and securing representation. Though Indians were granted federal citizenship in 1924, their right to vote continued to be challenged both up to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) and afterward. And though the VRA and subsequent amendments have aided the Indian franchise, the law continues to be an incomplete solution. Recent developments in election law jurisprudence (including the dismantling of preclearance under sections 4 and 5 of the VRA reveal cracks in the enforcement foundation.

Half a century after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — and a full one after the Indian Citizenship Act — Indians still face a host of “second generation barriers” to voting and representation. While the Voting Rights Act has made significant progress in protecting Indian voting rights, its limitations have become all the more obvious recently. In its absence, something — possibly renewed congressional action in the form of legislation like NAVRA — is needed to fill the gap. At the very least, to the extent that voting rights will become increasingly reliant on private protection in this new doctrinal environment, the vulnerability of the Indian franchise must not be forgotten.

Meanwhile, in Montana:

Fort Belknap Challenging Montana for Voting Rights

The Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana is considering taking legal action against Blaine County and the Secretary of State of Montana for failing to provide equal access to the right to vote for tribal members, according to the tribe’s president.

http://harvardlawreview.org/2016/04/securing-indian-voting-rights/

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/04/08/fort-belknap-challenging-montana-voting-rights-164064

[2naSalit]

1. K&R

[Downwinder]

2. A guide to voter suppression.