WASHINGTON – Navajo and Hopi voters in Arizona played a major role in securing the crucial state for President Joe Biden last year, but nationally more than a third of voting age Native Americans aren’t registered to vote.
The disengagement from electoral politics reflects both historical and modern barriers to voting access and the fraught relationship between tribes and the federal government.
Despite a small national population and traditionally low turnout rate, Native American voters could play a major role in deciding the next presidential election with large tribal communities in the key battleground states of Arizona and North Carolina — especially if a candidate can boost their participation and support at the polls.
