The County’s decision to switch to a mail-only voting system, and designating only one distant location for in-person voting, adversely impacts Navajo voters.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 26, 2016

SAN JUAN, UTAH - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), DLA Piper, LLP, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah (ACLU of Utah) announce the filing of a new lawsuit against San Juan County, Utah on behalf of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, and seven members of the Navajo Nation. The lawsuit challenges the County’s decision to switch to a mail-only voting system that adversely impacts Navajo voters, and the County’s decision to designate the only site for in-person voting at a location far away from the majority of the Navajo voters.

The lawsuit, Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission v. San Juan County et al., was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Utah and alleges that San Juan County violates provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The case arises from the County’s decision in 2014 to close all polling places and switch to a mail-only voting system. The County is covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act and is required to provide all voting materials – including voting instructions and ballots – in both English and Navajo. However, because Navajo is an unwritten language, the County’s mail-only ballot system conflicts with their Section 203 obligations.

The postal system in rural parts of San Juan County, where many Navajo voters reside, is unreliable and not accessible, making it difficult for many Navajo voters to receive and return their ballots on time under a mail-only electoral system. Although the County is approximately half white and half Navajo, the only way a voter can vote in-person under the current voting scheme is to travel to the County Clerk’s office in the county seat of Monticello, which is 84 percent white.

Because Navajo residents tend to live farther from the county seat than white residents, Navajo voters do not have the same voting opportunities as other residents: Navajo residents must travel, on average, more than twice as long as white residents in order to reach Monticello to vote in-person. The trip for a Navajo voter takes, on average, over two hours round trip, while the trip for a white voter takes, on average, under an hour. For residents living in the areas in the southwest of the County that are majority Navajo, the round trip to Monticello to vote in-person is even longer and may take between nine and ten hours.

“For Native American voters, the protections long provided by the Voting Rights Act have proven vital,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.  “History makes clear that certain voting changes that benefit the majority, may disadvantage and impair the rights of a few.  Our case seeks to protect the rights of those Navajo voters who seek meaningful access to the ballot box and the right to participate in our democracy.”

“The County’s switch to a mail-only voting system disproportionately impacts Navajo voters who live further from the County seat and do not speak English,” said Ezra D. Rosenberg, co-director of the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee. “The Voting Rights Act, which is meant to ensure that obstacles are not placed in the way of racial, ethnic, and language minorities from participating in the political process, prohibits that.”

Laughlin McDonald, an attorney with the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, said “there has been such a history of discrimination against American Indians in voting, and unfortunately the mail-in system of voting adopted by San Juan County perpetuates that history.”

“Equal access to vote is fundamental to the American way of life,” said Ray Williams, a partner at DLA Piper LLP.  “By moving to a mail only process, members of the Navajo Nation are being denied equal access to vote.  That is not fundamental to the American way of life and therefore must be addressed.”
“Utah can’t properly honor the democratic process if the voices of Navajo voters are excluded from that process,” said Leah Farrell, ACLU of Utah staff attorney. “We must make every effort, through the voting process and through all governmental outreach, to hear the voices of all the people who live in Utah; mail-only voting threatens to exclude valuable and valued communities within our state.”

“It is very unfortunate that we have to go through another round of lawsuits to protect Navajo people's voting rights in San Juan County,” said Leonard Gorman, executive director for the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission. “My office repeatedly requested that San Juan County rescind mail-in ballot elections in the near future.  I have been met with silence, other than the mail-in ballot will not be lifted for now. Many of my Navajo relatives cannot read, speak and/or write in the English language.  For this reason, San Juan County is supposed to provide language assistance to Navajo voters that are non-English readers at the polling places.  With the all mail-in ballot elections, my grandmothers and grandfathers are especially left to cast ballots they cannot read, if they receive a ballot in the mail.”

More information about this case can be found at Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission v. San Juan County et al.

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About the Lawyers’ Committee: The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. We celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2013 and continue our quest of “Moving America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers' Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice under law, particularly in the areas of fair housing and fair lending; community development; employment; voting; education and environmental justice.

About DLA Piper: DLA Piper is a global law firm located in more than 30 countries throughout Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, positioning it to help companies with their legal needs around the world. In certain jurisdictions, this information may be considered attorney advertising.

About the ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union is a non-profit, public interest organization dedicated to protecting the civil and constitutional  rights of all persons.  It has engaged in litigation to protect those rights including litigation to protect the voting rights of American Indians.    

About the ACLU of Utah: The ACLU of Utah is a state affiliate of the national ACLU, engages in integrated advocacy at the state and local levels to ensure the constitutional rights and civil liberties of everyone in Utah. Our avenues of impact include public education, legal advocacy, litigation, policy work and lobbying at both the state and local levels. Our work is guided by the Bill of Rights. The ACLU of Utah is based in Salt Lake City.