In order to maximize the Native vote, it is critical that American Indian and Alaska Native people actively participate in local, state, and national elections. To encourage this effort, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has revitalized an extensive national effort to mobilize the Native vote in collaboration with regional organizations, local tribal governments, urban Indian centers, and non-governmental organizations. Unlike other areas throughout the nation, Indian Country can produce unique challenges and strenuous conditions for voter registration.
NCAI has compiled the following suggestions to assist with the challenges of organizing a Get Out the Native Vote effort:
1. Download the 2012 Native Vote Toolkit and the Four Directions Native Vote 2010 Election Observer Training Manual
5. Before you begin registering, make sure you know the procedures, rules, and deadlines for registering voters in your state and country. You can find this information here on our Key States pages or on the Secretary of State website for your respective state. Gather data on voter registration from the county election officer. For example, you can request the number of registered voters by county and precinct to help measure your success. Purchase a complete list of registered voters from the county election office. Pick up stacks of voter registration cards at your county election office.
6. Register voters and leave voter registration cards at tribal or local health facilities. The traffic of patients at a local IHS facility is a great place to find people to register to vote. It also gives you time to educate the voter and recruit volunteers as they wait to be seen! Tribal headquarters. All tribal headquarters should have voter registration materials available to the public. Local elementary and high schools. Registering voters at local community schools will give parents and teachers convenient access to voter registration. It also gives you direct access to the next generation of unregistered voters - high school students who are 18 and over. Tribal agencies. Places like local housing, childcare, or economic agencies, are frequented by diverse populations everyday. Canvass. Get-Out-The-Native-Vote (GOTNV) by canvassing your local community and housing areas to register people to vote.
7. Set up a voter registration booth at powwows and other community events. Setting up booths at places where your community gathers will give you immediate access to large groups of people. Tribal Colleges. Local colleges and universities offer an opportunity to get young people engaged into the political process at an early age. Post Office. Since local post offices receive the most visits at the beginning of the month, this would be the best time for voter outreach.
8. Spread the word on the internet and send people to NativeVote.org. There are so many ways for you to reach people, and the internet is absolutely one the best ways. Encourage your friends on Facebook and Twitter to send out information about the Native Vote effort. You can link to our Native Vote Facebook page here, and you can follow us on Twitter here. Finally, if you have a blog or a website, add this banner to your site.
For additional information, please contact Kelcee Baker at kbaker [at] ncai.org
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