Increasing Native American voter turnout

September 21, 2012

The National Congress of American Indians has scheduled a week of voter education and registration events starting Monday to boost turnout for the November sixth general election.

KJZZ’s Steve Goldstein has more.

The National Congress will host events in more than one hundred thirty communities across the country, including efforts to help identify tribal members who need to register to vote. Kids will also be involved, as tribal schools and Native youth programs present opportunities for civics education.

The centerpiece is National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September twenty-fifth.

The group says there’s a civic emergency in American Indian communities, with forty percent of eligible American Indian and Alaska natives not registered to vote. The National Congress wants to increase participation by at least ten percent in November.

Organization President Jefferson Keel says the goal is for tribal voices to be heard in national and state elections.

Steve Goldstein, KJZZ News, Phoenix.