Wisconsin is another key state that helped deliver Biden a win after voting for Trump in 2016. There, 2.5% of the popul
Wisconsin is another key state that helped deliver Biden a win after voting for Trump in 2016. There, 2.5% of the population identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native.
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Sometimes overlooked by campaigns, Native voters could decide major elections in 2024
https://www.npr.org/2023/11/20/1213525361/native-voters-influence-2024-elections-arizona-montana-wisconsin?ft=nprml&f=139482413
Updated November 21, 20231:06 PM ET
Heard on Morning Edition
Pins are pictured at a display counter during a cultural meeting at the Comanche Nation fairgrounds in Lawton, Okla., on Sept. 30.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images
Grassroots efforts to get Native American voters to turn in their ballots for the 2024 election are in motion across swing states as Democrats and Republicans are both vying for power.
There are predicted to be at least 5 million Native and Alaska Native-identifying voters in the U.S. in both rural and urban communities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau although estimates are expected to be an undercount.
"Native Americans are incredibly influential and have the ability to really swing those elections on the margins," said Jacqueline De León, a senior staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, adding that she sees the potential for Native voters to decide elections where the population of Native Americans is bigger than the vote differentials that decide those races.
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There are some challenges ahead. Native voting activists have filed several lawsuits, aimed at challenging laws and efforts that would limit access to voting for Indigenous people, De León said. These include laws that limit poll availability, identification card barriers, and issues with mail-in ballots on reservations. ........................