The next presidential election is a little more than a year away but Native Vote 2012 will kick off next week at the National Congress of American Indians 68th annual conference.

Tribes hope the effort will lead to an increase in voter registrations and participation in the 2012 election. Organizers have identified 13 states -- Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin -- where the American Indian and Alaska Native vote can make a difference.

"There has been an explosion of Native American get-out-the-vote organization in the past 15 years," Chris Stearns, a member of the Native Vote Washington board, told The Oregonian. "There are a lot of people who know what they're doing."

The conference takes place next Monday-Friday in Portland, Oregon.

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In Portland, the National Congress of American Indians conference will try to get out the vote (The Oregonian 10/28)