Native Voters in Nevada Head to Caucuses After Winning Voting Rights Fight

[turbinetree]

BY Mike Ludwig, Truthout
PUBLISHED
February 22, 2020

Nearly a decade before former Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada would become the powerful Democratic majority leader under President Obama, he won a tight reelection race against a Las Vegas Republican by a razor-thin margin of a few hundred votes. Elveda Martinez of the Walker River Paiute Tribe in western Nevada said Native voters were quick to remind Reid that their turnout was crucial to his win.

“And we always told him, ‘We put you in office,’” Martinez said in an interview with Truthout

Reid listened and used his powers in Washington to secure crucial fresh water resources for a nearby lake that feeds the Walker River. Martinez is a water resources coordinator for the Walker River Reservation, but she said members of small tribal communities often wear many hats. Martinez is also a well-known voting rights and ballot access activist who works every election season to get out the vote in her community. A solid turnout of Native voters can have a big impact on elections in a key swing state with a population of only 3 million people.

https://truthout.org/articles/native-voters-in-nevada-head-to-caucuses-after-winning-voting-rights-fight/