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Native Americans Face Challenges When Voting

The Navajo will elect a new president on Tuesday.

Jonathan Nez, the current vice president, faces off against two-time President Joe Shirley Jr. at a crucial time for the tribe. 

Voting for Native Americans on reservations around the state can be a challenge.

Many people on the Navajo Nation will have to go to two different polling places to vote in their presidential election as well as their state and federal races. From challenges with mail to transportation, there are barriers to people on reservations voting early and voting at the polls.

For more on this, The Show got a hold of Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, director of the Indian Legal Program and the Indian Legal Clinic at ASU.

She told us we’re already seeing high turnout for in-person early voting at Fort Defiance on the Navajo Reservation this year.The county ran out of ballots there on Friday. Could that be a sign that, despite challenges, more Native Americans will make their voices heard this election?

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.