As the end of election season approaches, tribal efforts are working to make sure Native voters get to the ballot box. 

Voter registration efforts are reaching residents all along the Flathead Reservation, helping overcome barriers that have historically made participating in elections more difficult. 

One tribal organization held a voter registration week from Sept. 28 through Oct. 5, bringing registration opportunities to communities throughout the region. The effort is part of CSKT’s non-partisan outreach to educate residents about voting and help increase Indigenous participation in elections.

Get Out The Vote (GOTV) is a non-partisan organization built to help close the gap between Native Americans and voting. With the focus of giving voters the proper tools they need for election seasons. From first-time voters to elders, Get Out the Vote will go house to house, provide guidance on the voting process, help people register and supply candidate research and election information. 

Erica Shelby, the Get Out the Vote coordinator, has been the official coordinator for the past two election seasons, but has worked with the tribe’s voter registration efforts since 2012. Voter registration week went well, according to Shelby; the team spent the week going door to door, bringing voter registration cards and helping low-propensity voters register early or late. 

“We find that's way more successful than just giving them the information and the times, then having them do it themselves,” Shelby said. “A lot of people might not have a vehicle; they might be out of work and can’t afford fuel. There’s all sorts of different things that could be impeding the way they can vote.”

Indigenous voting turnout continues to fall behind that of other racial and ethnic groups. According to the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Indigenous voting turnout averaged 37.2% across six federal elections from 2012 to 2022, compared to 20.5 percentage points higher than white voters. 

In the 2020 presidential election, an estimated 48.4% of Native American voters participated, compared to 71.9% of non-Hispanic white voters. Then, for the 2022 midterm election, Native American turnout dropped to 31.9% compared to 53.1% of non-Hispanic white voters. 

According to Shelby, the Flathead has many unique voting barriers. With all the rural space, a high homelessness population and challenges such as transportation, voter information and media, these are barriers that Get Out the Vote focuses on fixing. This includes closing the gap between having many voters motivated for tribal elections but not for federal elections. 

“Historically, there's a mistrust between tribal individuals and what they view as non-tribal government agencies. That can go back as far as the beginning of our tribe or our treaties. There’s still this mistrust of a different government ruling us,” Shelby said. “We want to aid things that come from those governments and vice versa. Communicating to our counties, getting what our people need.” 

According to NARF, only 66% of eligible voters of the Indigenous populations in the United States are registered. That means over 1,000,000 eligible tribal voters are not registered. While voter turnout for local tribal elections tends to be higher, the federal and state elections still pose a large gap. 

“In 2012, we did have a really good turnout for that time; we were super proud of that work. If we were to compare it to today’s cycles, it would actually be low for us,” Shelby said. “We’ve just been steadily increasing our voter turnout every election cycle. We hope to keep going until we are at 100%.” 

In a close 2006 contest in Montana, John Tester depended on the Native vote. There are over 50,000 voting-age Native Americans in Montana, with more than 17,000 votes coming from reservations. Tester won by a slim margin of 3,562 votes, and his 2012 win was also attributed in significant part to the Native vote.

“Native votes matter, not just here but everywhere. When our communities participate, we ensure that our tribal sovereignty, our tribal resources, our tribal families, are represented,” Shelby said. “It hasn’t always been like that, and I think in the short time we’ve been doing this, we see a huge difference.” 

With satellite voting week coming up, starting Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, check voter registration status at MyVoterPageMT.com and get registered before noon on general election day, Nov. 3. Residents who need transportation assistance may also contact CSKT Transit to arrange a ride to vote.