The Montana voter registration and mobilization program started by Western Native Voice in 2011 had a large impact on the 2012 election. Operating a community-centered, grassroots-based voter registration drive on all seven Indian reservations and in the cities of Montana, Western Native Voice registered over 6,300 Native American voters and mobilized them to vote. This effort had a powerful impact. Overall, in Native American-dense precincts, the voter turnout rate was 61 percent. (The 2012 national rate in one estimate is 57.5 percent.) In the state capital, the election results are telling: Five state representatives and three state senators are Native American and now operate an effective Native American caucus in the state legislature. Montana also has the only state-wide Native American official in the U.S., State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau. Plainly, the combination of grassroots organizing in Native communities combined with election protection at the polls to guarantee the integrity of the voting process resulted in Montana Native Americans making their voices heard at the polls.Get the Story:
Dustin Monroe: Native Empowerment: One State at a Time (Indian Country Today 4/6)
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