{"id":5660,"date":"2020-12-10T14:52:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T19:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=5660"},"modified":"2020-12-10T14:52:09","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T19:52:09","slug":"cronkite-news-native-vote-turned-out-for-democrat-joe-biden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/12\/10\/cronkite-news-native-vote-turned-out-for-democrat-joe-biden\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Native vote turned out for Democrat Joe Biden"},"content":{"rendered":"<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-attachment-id=\"5662\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/12\/10\/cronkite-news-native-vote-turned-out-for-democrat-joe-biden\/priscillacoronadomadrid\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/priscillacoronadomadrid.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"priscillacoronadomadrid\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Priscilla Coronado Madrid, a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, cast her vote for Democrat Joe Biden on Election Day. She was a cashier at a Shell gas station before the pandemic cost her her job. \u201cWe\u2019re still trying to get back on our feet,\u201d she says. (Photo by Franco LaTona\/Cronkite News)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/priscillacoronadomadrid-1024x768.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/priscillacoronadomadrid.jpg\" alt=\"priscillacoronadomadrid\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5662\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Priscilla Coronado Madrid, a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, cast her vote for Democrat Joe Biden on Election Day. She was a cashier at a Shell gas station before the pandemic cost her her job. \u201cWe\u2019re still trying to get back on our feet,\u201d she says.  Photo by Franco LaTona \/ Cronkite News\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Pandemic, Trump and racism drive voter turnout in some tribal communities<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, December 10, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Anthony J. Wallace<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nPHOENIX \u2013 Enthusiasm across Arizona was higher this election than in the 2016 presidential contest, and final results show the contrast was even more stark in Indian Country, where voters said they were especially motivated because of the <a href=\/covid19\/>COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> and issues of race.<p><\/p>\r\nA census \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/data\/tables\/time-series\/demo\/voting-and-registration\/congressional-voting-tables.html\">analysis<\/a>\r\nof 2018 data found American Indians were at least 4.4% of eligible voters in Arizona, or more than 220,000 people. Considering the neck-and-neck battle in Arizona\u2019s presidential election this year \u2013 decided by a mere \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/azsos.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2020_General_State_Canvass.pdf\">10,457<\/a>\r\nvotes \u2013 they had the power to swing the outcome.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cKnowing the thin margins in the last couple of elections, this was a year that we knew that a vote really mattered, and we took it seriously,\u201d said Kevin Allis, the former chief executive officer of the National Congress of American Indians. \u201c(Native voters) likely played a very key role in close races in Arizona.\u201d\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nMirroring a trend across the U.S., voter \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/azsos.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2020_General_State_Canvass.pdf\">turnout<\/a>\r\nwas higher in all 15 Arizona counties compared with the \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.azsos.gov\/election\/2016\/General\/Official%20Signed%20State%20Canvass.pdf\">2016<\/a>\r\ngeneral election. Statewide, turnout increased 5.7% from 2016, to 79.9%.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThe largest jump came in Apache County, which contains swaths of the Navajo Nation and the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and has a 73% Native population. Turnout there rose 10 percentage points, from 59% in 2016 to 69% this year.<p><\/p>\r\nPresident-elect Joe Biden received more than 66% of the votes there, according to county canvassing data. That\u2019s 5 points better than how Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton finished in the county in 2016.<p><\/p>\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/943986190&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true&#038;visual=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/cronkitenews\" title=\"CRONKITENEWS\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">CRONKITENEWS<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/cronkitenews\/native-voters-motivated-by-pandemic-racism\" title=\"Native voters motivated by pandemic, racism\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">Native voters motivated by pandemic, racism<\/a><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Cronkite News Audio by Anthony Wallace: <a href=https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/cronkitenews\/native-voters-motivated-by-pandemic-racism>Native voters motivated by pandemic, racism<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nMore specific precinct level data shows that Native Americans voted overwhelmingly for Biden over President Donald Trump and in greater numbers than they did in 2016.<p><\/p>\r\nFor example this year, 86% of voters in the Canyon de Chelly precinct on the Navajo Nation voted for Biden, compared with 82% for Clinton in 2016. But more significantly, the precinct had a 61% voter turnout this year, compared with 48% in 2016, according to official county results.<p><\/p>\r\nThis phenomenon was not confined to the Four Corners region. From the Navajo Nation to the Tohono O&#8217;odham Nation along the Mexican border, Native voters said they felt more inspired to participate in this year\u2019s election.<p><\/p>\r\nFaith Ramon, 37, a Tohono O&#8217;odham who lives in Tucson, said she was spurred by Trump\u2019s construction of a wall along Arizona\u2019s southern border, plowing through land considered sacred to the tribe. If completed, the wall would separate Arizona tribal members from cultural sites and Tohono O&#8217;odham who live in Mexico.<p><\/p>\r\nBefore the election, protesters from the tribe clashed with Border Patrol agents north of the Lukeville international crossing, near where the wall is being built. On Indigenous Peoples\u2019 Day, October 12, the demonstrations escalated, and multiple protesters were arrested and sprayed with tear gas.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThey don&#8217;t understand how much it means to us,\u201d Ramon said. \u201cSo for me, I feel like this wall really brought awareness to our nation, to our people and surrounding tribes in the area.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" data-attachment-id=\"5664\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/12\/10\/cronkite-news-native-vote-turned-out-for-democrat-joe-biden\/nativevote-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/nativevote.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"nativevote\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Final election results in Arizona show enthusiasm was high among voters in Indian Country, where some said they were especially motivated because of the pandemic and issues of race. Turnout was significantly higher in places like Apache County, home to parts of the Navajo Nation and the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. (Photo by Franco LaTona\/Cronkite News&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/nativevote-1024x683.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/nativevote.jpg\" alt=\"nativevote\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5664\" \/>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Final election results in Arizona show enthusiasm was high among voters in Indian Country, where some said they were especially motivated because of the pandemic and issues of race. Turnout was significantly higher in places like Apache County, home to parts of the Navajo Nation and the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Photo by Franco LaTona \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nRamon works as a community organizer for the advocacy group Living United for Change in Arizona, known as \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/luchaaz.org\">LUCHA<\/a>. In previous elections, the Tohono O\u2019odham have had low voter turnout, she said, but enthusiasm was higher this year.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt feels good to be able to have made a difference in this election,\u201d she said.<p><\/p>\r\nCronkite News analyzed individual voting precincts across the Tohono O\u2019odham Nation and found that in both 2016 and 2020, about 94% of voters supported the Democratic presidential candidate. But this year, Biden received 21% more votes than Clinton did in 2016.<p><\/p>\r\nOverall turnout in Pima County, which includes the reservation, was 82% this year versus 78% in 2016.<p><\/p>\r\nRamon said tribal members were also energized by the campaign of Gabriella C\u00e1zares-Kelly, a Tohono O\u2019odham member elected Pima County recorder.<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;This isn&#8217;t just my win,&#8221; C\u00e1zares-Kelly said in her victory speech. \u201cThis is a win for the Tohono O&#8217;odham people, for the Pascua Yaqui people, for any of you who are \u2026 affiliated with a tribe, to people of color \u2013 this is a win for all of us.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nNative voters also made their presence felt in other parts of the country. Thanks to victories in New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Hawaii, six Native Americans were elected to the U.S. House. That\u2019s a record, according to \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/indiancountrytoday.com\/news\/us-house-candidates-make-history-nrjfe9eNSk6dY6UQLZgD-g\">Indian Country Today<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Congratulations to the FIRST Indigenous person elected to county-wide office in Pima County <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gabriella_for?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@gabriella_for<\/a> Gabby C\u00e1zares-Kelly!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IndigenousWomanComingThrough?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IndigenousWomanComingThrough<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Regina Romero (@TucsonRomero) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TucsonRomero\/status\/1323825927239790593?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 4, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/electioneve2020.com\/poll\/#\/en\/demographics\/native-american\/\">American Election Eve Poll<\/a>, conducted in the two weeks leading up to the election, identified the pandemic as the most important issue among Native voters surveyed in the state.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nCOVID-19 death rates are higher for Indigenous people and other people of color, both in Arizona and the U.S. The Navajo Nation alone has lost more than 660 people to the disease; its death rate has been higher than any U.S. state.<p><\/p>\r\nFranklin Sage, director of the Din\u00e9 Policy Institute in Tsaile, said Trump\u2019s downplaying of the virus didn\u2019t sit well on the reservation. He has voted for both Republicans and Democrats but this year went with Democrats up and down the ticket, and the two biggest issues driving his decision were the pandemic and racism.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cIt&#8217;s almost like going back to the \u201960s when the civil rights movement really started, with the racism being blatantly open,\u201d Sage said, adding that this sentiment is clearly \u201cencouraged by this president.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nPriscilla Coronado Madrid, 47, a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, was a cashier at a Shell gas station before the pandemic cost her her job. The mother of three said she voted for Biden \u201cbecause I feel that he will make an effort to figure out something about this COVID \u2013 financially, emotionally.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cWe&#8217;re still trying to get back on our feet,\u201d she said.<p><\/p>\r\nChristina Morris, a Navajo living in Farmington, New Mexico, said she considers herself to be center-right when it comes to politics \u2013 which isn\u2019t an easy thing these days.<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI feel like it&#8217;s not just right or left. Today&#8217;s climate is either you\u2019re far right or you\u2019re far left,\u201d she said. \u201cThere&#8217;s no middle ground.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\nShe said \u201cleadership and racism\u201d were the reasons she chose Biden.<p><\/p>\r\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/Schischillyy\/status\/1325239287978233857\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nNavajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said he believes Native voters made all the difference this election. In a recent \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/azpbs.org\/horizonte\/2020\/11\/navajo-nations-experience-with-covid-19-and-their-large-2020-election-voter-turnout\/\">interview<\/a>\r\nwith Arizona PBS, he noted that COVID-19 relief drives across the reservation had doubled as \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2020\/09\/29\/navajo-covid-19-relief-drive-highlights-census-participation\/\">voter registration drives<\/a>\r\nand helped increase interest.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cAnd I think because of the Navajo vote, we actually helped change Arizona from red to a blue state,\u201d he said.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nNow, he hopes the new administration makes good on promises to give Native Americans a seat at the table. Already, Biden has \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2020\/11\/30\/navajo-health-director-named-to-bidens-advisory-board-on-covid-19\/\">added<\/a>\r\na Navajo to his COVID-19 advisory board: Dr. Jill Jim, executive director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nDuring the campaign, Biden released his \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/joebiden.com\/tribal\/\">ideas<\/a>\r\nfor Indian Country, emphasizing education funding for tribal schools, Native American voting rights, and addressing health disparities. But Sage noted it\u2019s easy to say the right things when you\u2019re trying to get votes.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cI think a lot of politicians only come around the reservation during the election,\u201d Sage said. \u201cAnd the rest of the time, I think some of the Navajos think that they are being forgotten.\u201d<p><\/p>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM>Note: This story originally <a href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2020\/12\/09\/covid-19-trump-and-racism-drive-increases-in-voter-turnout-in-some-tribal-communities\/\">appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>.  It  is published via a <A href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/\">Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at <A href=\"https:\/\/www.asu.edu\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM><HR>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Enthusiasm across Arizona was higher this election than in the 2016 presidential contest, and final results show the contrast was even more stark in Indian Country.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,14],"tags":[4,42,45,944,5,46,94,75,56,941,805,942,53,28,218,55,24,7,943,61,85,43,41],"class_list":["post-5660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-politics","tag-4","tag-arizona","tag-borders","tag-christina-morris","tag-coronavirus","tag-cronkite-news","tag-democrats","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections","tag-faith-ramon","tag-franklin-sage","tag-gabriella-cazares-kelly","tag-joe-biden","tag-jonathan-nez","tag-kevin-allis","tag-native-vote","tag-navajo","tag-ncai","tag-priscilla-coronado-madrid","tag-racism","tag-republicans","tag-sacred-sites","tag-tohono-oodham","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/10\/priscillacoronadomadrid.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-1ti","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}