San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman urges Tribal Members to register to vote by October 7

Contributed Article

San Carlos Apache Reservation, Ariz.— San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler is urging Tribal members 18 years and older to register to vote by Oct. 7 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election — even if they do not have documents proving U.S. citizenship.

“A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling requires Arizona residents to submit proof of citizenship when registering to vote using a state voter registration form,” Chairman Rambler said. “However, a U.S. citizen can still register to vote without proof of citizenship by using a federal voter registration form.”

The federal registration form can be found here.

A U.S. citizen who uses the federal registration form and lacks proof of citizenship will be registered as a “federal-only” voter. A federal-only voter is eligible to vote solely in races for federal offices. 

According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, 42,301 Arizona active and inactive voters were registered for only federal elections, as of July 1. Gila County reported 58 federal-only registrants and Graham County reported 47 federal-only registrants.

A divided Supreme Court on Aug. 22 granted a request from the Republican National Committee and the Republican leaders of Arizona’s legislature to reinstate a state law that requires residents to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote when using a state registration form. Submitting a state registration form that does not include proof of citizenship will be rejected by the County Recorder.

“It’s imperative that all tribal members who registered to vote in the past verify if they are still registered,” Chairman Rambler said. “If you are not registered to vote, I urge you to do so immediately and well before Oct. 7.”

Tribal members with a valid Arizona driver’s license or state I.D. may register online through www.ServiceArizona.com. Any Arizona driver’s license or state I.D. issued after Oct. 1, 1996, constitutes valid Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC).

Registered voters can request a ballot-by-mail by either registering for the Active Early Voting List or a one-time request for ballot-by-mail.

Tribal members who do not have a driver’s license or state I.D. but do have DPOC may register to vote using the state’s paper form. Tribal members can provide DPOC with the following options:

• A legible copy of a birth certificate. (If a member of the Tribe does not have a birth certificate, the Medical Records Department of the San Carlos Apache Healthcare Corporation can assist members with birth certificate production. Contact Katherine Andersen at (928) 475-1266 or via e-mail at katherine.andersen@scahealth.org. The process takes six to eight weeks to complete.)

• A legible copy of a U.S. passport or passport card.

• Tribal Enrollment Number.

• Bureau of Indian Affairs Card Number.

• Tribal Treaty Card Number.

• Tribal Certificate of Indian Blood.

• Tribal/Bureau of Indian Affairs affidavit of birth

Tribal members who are U.S. citizens and do not have a valid Arizona driver’s license or state I.D. and lack DPOC must register using the federal registration form and mail or deliver the completed application to the appropriate County Recorder.

The County Recorder must send a letter within 10 business days to a registrant using the federal form without DPOC stating that they have not satisfied the proof of citizenship requirement to become a full-ballot voter including state and local elections. To obtain a full ballot, the registrant must provide DPOC by 5:00 p.m., Oct. 31. A registrant will remain a federal-only voter until they submit valid DPOC to become a full-ballot voter.

Gila County residents can deliver or mail their paper state or federal voter registration form to the Gila County Recorder, 1400 E. Ash Street, Globe, AZ 85501. Graham County residents can deliver their paper state or federal voter registration form to Graham County Recorder, 921 Thatcher Boulevard 2nd Floor, Safford, or mail to the Graham County Recorder, P.O. Box 747, Safford, AZ 85548.

Mailed voter registration forms must be postmarked on or before Oct. 7 and received by the County Recorder by 7 p.m. on Election Day, or the registration form must be dated on or before Oct. 7 and delivered to the County Recorder by Oct. 12.

The San Carlos Apache Tribe Council has endorsed the Democratic Party presidential and vice-presidential ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.