Tribes will soon be able to run their own polling locations for federal and state elections on reservations in Nevada. The change came from Gov. Joe Lombardo's approval of Senate Bill 421 in the recently concluded legislative session.
This bill was developed in response to barriers Tribal members in the state faced when trying to participate in elections.
For instance, members of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, one of the two largest tribes in the state by population, had to travel over 60 miles to cast a ballot.
"When someone has to drive two to fours to vote, that's not Democracy," said Nevada's Secretary of State, Cisco Aguilar.
And Indigenous voters are still dealing with voter intimidation in rural areas of the state.
"Historically, rural communities in Nevada have been very racist. It has definitely been easier today than it was in previous years, but I experienced racism at a very young age," said former Walker River Paiute Tribe chairperson and consultant, Andrea Martinez. "And so, it's not too far gone that racism is still an issue in Nevada."
Although tribes are sovereign nations, tribal members were given U.S. citizenship in 1924. Martinez says this dual status makes voting important.
"We have just become citizens only 100 years ago, and I don't know if people realize that." Martinez said. "And these decisions that are made on federal levels impact our tribal nations immensely."
A recent example of this impact is President Donald Trump's administration cutting 400 federal grants for tribes. Walker River Paiute Tribe was one of many affected by the cuts, losing $20 million needed to fix their antiquated water system.
Many tribal members in Nevada don't prioritize voting in federal and state elections. But Martinez sees an increased number of tribal members who want to participate in them.
"If tribal voices aren't heard at this level, then we're not participating in forming our budget or the laws that are going to be implemented in our country when the federal government has trust responsibilities to the tribe," she said. "And so it's important that we have that right just as well as everybody else in the country because it affects us just as much."
Before SB 421, the state required local counties to provide polling locations to tribes that wished to participate. A law that passed in 2023 added more polling locations throughout the state. The change doubled voter turnout in tribal land, raising it to 36 percent. But it wasn't perfect according to Martinez.
"The stories that I've heard from other tribes [is], they don't even get a call back. They don't have any communication with the counties or anybody who works for them," Martinez said. "That's really unfortunate, because they should have the same respect as everybody else in our country who has the right to vote."
Aguilar says he feels increasing tribal participation benefits everyone.
"We should be proud of that 36 percent increase, but when you step back and think about it, it's actually not something we should be proud of," he said. "It was the fact we had been missing so many voters for so many elections that they didn't have a voice in who we are as Nevadans."
The Secretary of State's office supported Senate Bill 421 throughout the legislative session.
It goes into law in October.
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