This year the Postal Service may decide the outcome of elections nationwide.
In a historic attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters, Donald Trump has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to allow his mail-in-ballot voter suppression scheme to move ahead. Under the direction of Trump's Postmaster General, the Postal Service has finalized a rule that would block election ballots from being delivered to anyone not on a "verified citizenship" list created in part by the Department of Homeland Security.
According to a Postal Service whistleblower, this plan is moving ahead against court orders and is being rolled out in such a haphazard manner that it could jeopardize millions of votes.
The Postal Board of Governors can stop this — but they won't unless we make them.
Tribal voters on reservations often travel long distances to vote in person. A mail-in ballot is the best way to vote. "Often, vote by mail is the only option that is made available to Native communities. And so, when you disrupt that process or start creating lists that are imperfect and keep people off [of voting rolls], then Native voters are going to be inevitably cut out and disenfranchised," said Jacqueline De León, a senior staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund.
For Indian Country, mail-in voting strengthens democracy and the possibility of sovereign Tribal Nations playing their role in shaping the direction of federal and state policies.
Mail-in ballots also expands democracy for all working people, elders, voters with disabilities, and military service members overseas. And it gives voters the chance to think and talk with their families and communities before voting.
That's why 72% of states and the District of Columbia now offer vote by mail to all voters, regardless of party. It doesn't advantage one side or the other — the advantage goes to the democratic process itself.
Every election, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund organizes to prevent voter suppression and demonstrate the power of our communities, which can make the difference in critical races up and down the ballot. But if Trump's scheme is allowed to move forward, tens of millions of voters could be disenfranchised.
Native peoples' right to vote is intertwined with our right to sovereignty and self-governance over our lands, our communities, and our resources. In a real democracy, voting is one way communities exercise their rights.
Autocracy, on the other hand, is about shutting people out of the process — limiting their ability to participate and even undermining their belief that voting matters at all. That is exactly why the Trump administration is trying to do everything they can to end voting by mail.
When Indian Country organizes to protect the right to vote, we prove that our people are doing our part to build a majority movement to overcome autocracy and repression. Mother Earth and future generations are depending on all of us.
Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, whixh is a partner to Native Organizers Alliance.
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