The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is facing a contempt of court citation for failing to notify Freedmen descendants of their citizenship and voting rights on time.

Under an order issued by a federal judge last week, the tribe agreed to notify the Freedmen descendants of their right to vote in the September 24 election for principal chief. However, an election official admitted to missing two deadlines due to a printing problem.

"We did everything we could physically do to comply with the court order," Susan Plumb, the chairwoman of the Cherokee Nation Election Commission, told the Associated Press.

The Muskogee Phoenix reported that Judge Henry Kennedy held the tribe in contempt on Monday for failing to follow the order. However, as of this morning, there was no entry for the citation in the court's electronic filing system.

Final results of the race between Chad Smith, who was the incumbent, and Bill John Baker, a tribal councilor, won't be known until October 8 at the earliest.

Joe Crittenden, who was elected deputy chief, is serving as acting chief until the winner of the race is declared.

Get the Story:
Federal judge: Cherokees in contempt of court (The Muskogee Phoenix 9/26)
Cherokee Nation misses election pact deadline (AP 9/26)
Lawyer: Cherokee election board violated court order (The Tulsa World 9/27)

Cherokee Nation Supreme Court Decision:
Cherokee Nation Registrar v. Nash (August 22, 2011)

Related Stories:
Cherokee Nation sees increase in turnout for second election (9/26)
Results of Cherokee Nation principal chief vote due October 10 (9/23)
Column: Freedmen dispute a sad story for the Cherokee Nation (9/23)
Letter: Cherokee Freedmen dustup about sovereignty not race (9/23)
Judge approves order for Freedmen vote in Cherokee election (9/22)
Cherokee Nation allows Freedmen to vote in Saturday's election (9/21)
Federal judge to hear arguments in Cherokee Freedmen lawsuit (9/20)
NPR: Cherokee Nation facing scrutiny for ousting the Freedmen (9/20)
Cherokee Nation starts sending provisional ballots to Freedmen (9/16)
NYT: Tribal rights vs. racial justice in Cherokee Freedmen battle (9/16)
Blog: Rush Limbaugh offers take on Cherokee Freedmen dispute (9/16)
Steve Russell: The circus that has become the Cherokee Nation (9/15)
Cherokee Nation to allow Freedmen to cast provisional ballots (9/15)
Editorial: Cherokee Nation faces pressure on fate of Freedmen (9/15)
Acting Cherokee Nation chief vows to protect tribe's interests (9/14)
BIA warns Cherokee Nation about disenrollment of Freedmen (9/13)
Lawmakers want HUD to restore funding to Cherokee Nation (9/12)
HUD won't release funds to Cherokee Nation in Freedmen flap (9/8)
Judge sets hearing on Freedmen motion for Cherokee election (9/6)
Freedmen eye lawsuit in federal court over Cherokee election (8/30)
Freedmen seek appeal for loss of Cherokee Nation citizenship (8/29)
Jay Tavare: Divide and conquer -- disenrollment among tribes (8/25)
Turtle Talk: Tribal courts, treaty rights and treaty rights disputes (8/25)
Cherokee Freedmen lose right to vote in upcoming chief election (8/24)
Decision allows Cherokee Nation to remove Freedmen from rolls (8/23)