Satellite Voting Lawsuit Enters Settlement Negotiations

Native American voters on the Fort Peck Reservation continue their fight for voting rights with a lawsuit asking for two satellite voting offices to be established closer to the reservation, specifically at locations in Frazer and Poplar, Mont.

After a hearing on Oct. 7, a continuance was set for Friday, Oct. 18. The Native American voters (plaintiffs) and the counties of Valley and Roosevelt (defendants) decided to begin settlement negotiations on Oct. 8, with the hope being the two parties can create a reasonable and feasible solution for the 2024 election season.

Valley County Dylan Jensen states a settlement offer has been offered by the plaintiffs in the case. He said he will present the offer to the Valley County Commissioners, but a meeting will have to be set and noticed to the general public before proceeding.

Original court documents state the plaintiffs are committed to removing all barriers of discrimination in the democratic process and are challenging the refusal to establish a satellite county clerk and recorder office (satellite office) on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Frazer and Poplar, for in-person late registration and in-person absentee voting.

The argument is that the refusal to establish satellite offices in these two locations has a significant disparate impact on Native American voting power, denial of their voting rights and is an effort to dilute voting strength. The argument also states, if left in effect, the failure to establish satellite offices at these locations on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation will make it harder, if not impossible, for the Plaintiffs and other tribal members to exercise their right to vote and elect candidates of their choice for federal, state and county offices.

The complaint also alleges that be failing to establish satellite offices, the Constitution of the State of Montana have been violated as it’s depriving Tribal members of their right to vote. Those who want to register to vote or cast a ballot in person must travel 56 miles round trip, or 70 miles round trip from Oswego, to the only satellite office established in Valley County. While tribal members in Roosevelt County would have to travel up to 90 miles round trip from Fort Kipp to Wolf Point.

It was also stated these barriers have created a burden on the voting rights of the Tribal members residing on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, who are also far less likely to have reliable accessible transportation to the nearest office. The result of these barriers are a startling imbalance that specifically harms those who live and work on the Reservation. Therefore, the plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction requiring the opening of satellite offices in Frazer and Poplar to provide Tribal members with equal access to the political process. If not granted, the argument is that members of the Tribes will have less opportunity to participate in the upcoming general election than other members, which is in violation of the Constitution of the State of Montana.

Court documents describe that on Jan. 31, 2024, Chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes Justin Gray Hawk, Sr., notified the Valley County Clerk of Court Recorder’s Office, that the Tribes identified a potential satellite office in Frazer. On the same day the Tribes notified the Secretary of State and the Valley County Commissioners that the location was identified.

In response to the Tribe’s request, Valley County Clerk and Recorder Marie Pippin notified the Tribes on Sept. 11, 2024, that her office could not provide more than one day in Frazer, because Valley County only contains a small part of the Reservation and her office is operated by herself and two part-time employees.

The plaintiffs are working to help the counties overcome the challenges of not finding staff, stating “We took an opportunity to help find staffing for these offices. Nobody wants this to be a sloppy process, it cannot be, so we’re wanting to make sure that the appropriate training is in place. One shouldn’t say, ‘Well, it’s too tough to get it done together for this election, so we better wait for the next one.’ And so all that being said, we’re delighted that, at least for now, we’ve got our side and the defense side talking and trying to come to a feasible solution.”

The request is to have satellite voting offices that are open at least a total of 179 hours, the same amount of time as any election office open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, which adds up to in most other areas of the state.

The Election Day being less than 30 days away, the plaintiffs’ designee, Bret Healy states there is ample time to set up offices and train staff, stating in similar cases satellite offices were up and running in less than two weeks.