KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2025 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Thousands Of Early Votes Cast In Navajo Election That May Be Canceled

Deschene signs
Laurel Morales
At a Tuba City parade during last year's campaign many people held signs for Chris Deschene that said, "honor our voice."

Audio Clip

Thousands Of Early Votes Cast In Navajo Election That May Be Canceled

Thousands Of Early Votes Cast In Navajo Election That May Be Canceled

Laurel Morales

At a recent parade in Tuba City many people held signs for Chris Deschene that said, "honor our voice."

More than 9,000 early ballots have been cast in an election that may be canceled. The Navajo Nation still doesn’t know what will happen with those ballots.

On Tuesday the Navajo president vetoed a bill that would have let voters decide if a presidential candidate was proficient in the language.

The Navajo Supreme Court ordered Chris Deschene off the ballot over a fluency requirement. The high court ruled that the election should be postponed and new ballots should be printed with the third-place finisher.

The Board of Election Supervisors has not complied with the ruling saying in a statement they have a responsibility to ensure the process is done in “a fair, impartial manner free of corruption, intimidation and fraud.”

On Friday the presidential contender who filed the original complaint against Deschene is taking the election board to court, where they could face jail time.

Laurel Morales was a Fronteras Desk senior field correspondent in Flagstaff from 2011 to 2020.