Mark Wandering Medicine, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana. was the lead plaintiff in the Wandering Medicine voting rights lawsuit. Photo from National Commission on Voting Rights

The Fort Belknap Indian Community is asking Blaine County, Montana, to open a satellite voting office on the reservation in order to comply with a settlement in a voting rights case.

The tribe wants the office to be staffed five days a week ahead of the primary and general elections this year, The Great Falls Tribune reported. President Mark Azure requested services in two different places on the reservation.

But the county can't meet the request, due to costs and lack of staffing, the paper reported. The county is instead proposing to open an office two days a week at one location for the primary and general elections. The county is also offering another office for an early voting period, but only on every other Friday, the paper said.

The state agreed to establish satellite offices as part of a settlement in Wandering Medicine v. McCulloch. Blaine County is part of the settlement but has so far failed to provide services to Fort Belknap, with officials at one point blaming the tribe for making a request four days late.

Get the Story:
Blaine County offers 2-day a week satellite offices to Fort Belknap (The Great Falls Tribune 1/21)

Related Stories:
Editorial: Make voting easier for Montana's original Americans (10/26)
Brandon Ecoffey: Powerful forces aim to keep out the Native vote (10/07)
Montana counties skirt Native voting rights case settlement (08/14)
President Obama: Voting Rights Act still a target after 50 years (8/12)
Voting Rights Act in focus with presidential election on horizon (8/7)
Stuart Delery: Safeguarding voting rights of the first Americans (05/29)
DOJ proposes bill to improve access to voting in Indian Country (05/22)
Chelsey Luger: Tribal ID cards should be treated with respect (11/07)
Mark Trahant: Native voters must be prepared on election day (10/30)
Zachary Pullin: Native Americans overcame barriers to voting (10/29)
Mark Trahant: Early voting begins on reservations in Montana (10/10)
Tony West: Protecting the right to vote for the first Americans (8/4)
DOJ to consult tribes about polling locations in Indian Country (6/10)
Native Sun News: Supreme Court sets back Indian voting rights (7/4)
Opinion: Justice Scalia doesn't understand Voting Rights Act (04/29)
Editorial: Voting Rights Act necessary to prevent discrimination (03/12)
Voting Rights Act challenged by Supreme Court conservatives (02/28)