Voters wait in line at the Apache County Polling location in Chinle, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation on Nov. 5, 2024. Photo by Shondiin Silversmith | Arizona Mirror
With temperatures dropping in the final hour that polls are open, voters at some Apache County polling locations are still facing long wait times to cast their ballot — and Navajo Nation leaders convinced a judge to keep the polls open until 9 p.m.
The voting site in Chinle on the Navajo Nation has had a long line throughout the day, as issues with ballot machines, printing ballots and confusion among voters.
One voter waited for two hours to cast their vote and said it was “a mess” inside. Another voter was stuck in line holding a misprinted ballot that she said needed to be voided so she could vote in person. A few more voters bundled in sweaters said they had already been in line for about an hour, but they were going to stick it out to make sure they casted their ballot.
As the sun went down, the line in front of the Chinle polling site was still leading into the gravel parking lot, with voters waiting for their turn to vote as temperatures sank into the 40s.
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Arizona Native Vote Protection Project volunteers Sadie Red Eagle and Shandiin Herrera arrived at the Chinle polling location at 6 a.m, and it didn’t open on time.
Red Eagle said there were voters already on site waiting in the pitch black for the polling location to open, which it did at about 6:15 a.m.
But the issues did not stop there. Red Eagle said the Chinle location was one of several Apache County polling sites that did not have enough ballots printed, and a lot of their machines have not been able to provide enough ballots as voters came in to vote in person.
Locations have been reporting that some of their machines are broken, she said, adding that two machines have been broken at the Chinle location. The other sites included Many farms, Wheatfield, Cottonwood, and Round Rock.
Red Eagle said this has resulted in many of the surrounding locations to send their voters to Chinle where they have encountered issues where out of precinct voters are trying to cast their ballots.
“Poll workers are incorrectly telling them that they can’t vote here, although they are required by law to provide accessible voter devices,” she said.
Issues with the on-demand ballot printers, which plagued multiple Apache County voting sites on Navajo land, prompted Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren to file an emergency lawsuit seeking to extend voting in the county for two additional hours.
“Navajo people represent a powerful voting base and we’ve demonstrated in the past that we can change the outcome of state and federal elections,” Nygren said in a press release. “Today’s issues in Apache County are troubling, but our Navajo voters should not be discouraged. The leaders of Apache County have reached out to me and we are working to ensure that our Navajo voters are being accommodated due to the technical failures.”
Nygren said the technology errors have disproportionately affected Navajo voters, and a failure to extend voting times risks disenfranchising them.
“If Navajo Nation members are unable to vote, the collective power and voice of the Navajo Nation is reduced,” he said. “If some of its members are unable to vote, the Navajo Nation’s overall ability to advocate effectively for critical resources for the Navajo Nation and the Navajo people is jeopardized.”
Nygren’s office said affected voters should call the Native Vote Hotline — 1-888-777-3831 — if they were experiencing problems. It isn’t immediately clear how many voters were affected; the county has 44 precincts and around 54,000 registered voters.
Shortly before the scheduled 7 p.m. closing time, Apache County Superior Court Judge Michael Latham issued an order allowing nine polling sites on the Navajo Nation to remain open until 9 p.m. The affected locations are in: Chinle, Cottonwood, Dennehotso, Fort Defiance, Lukachukai, Lupton, Rock Point, St. Michaels and Wheatfields.
***UPDATED: This story and headline have been updated to reflect the court order allowing polling sites to remain open longer.
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