We’re fighting extremism in Arizona. We can’t do it alone.
Team ready to canvass in the bordertown of Winslow. A high percentage of residents are Indigenous and towns like Winslow and Holbrook are critical to reach.
We’re days away before the November 8th election and the Northeast Arizona Native Democrats and overall Navajo County Democrats’ organizers and volunteers have been working daily to get out the vote in northeastern Arizona; on Navajo Nation, Hopi, White Mountain Apache and several border towns across three counties.
Help get out the Native and rural vote
Native and rural voters are up against a lot. It’s no secret our communities experience more barriers and challenges to registering to vote and casting our ballot than others. It’s due to many factors, some intentional and others not. That is why we created this program in 2019, to fill in the gaps and help voters.
The Arizona establishment put policies and laws in place to make it harder to register to vote and cast our ballot. There is a long list of obstacles: gerrymandering, voter ID laws, shortening timelines and deadlines, the time it takes to collect and send mail, washed out roads, lack of transportation, digital divide, language translation, and more. On top of all this we must also battle misinformation around voting by mail, election security, and voter harassment. Even the threat from armed poll watchers who claim to “protect the ballot.”
This is why our team of local organizers is so critical.
In September, we worked hard to get folks registered to vote by the October deadline, continuing public outreach by every means possible. We also did our best to increase voting by mail-in ballot because of the Election Day challenges we can experience with vast distances to polling locations, weather, and lack of transportation, to name a few. We deal with a variety of challenges in our region that many city dwellers don’t contend with. We do our best to educate voters on the many ways to plan and overcome those challenges, including voting early, voting by mail, or dropping ballots off at their nearest county ballot drop box.
After the voter registration closed in October, we quickly moved to Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts with early voting beginning October 12th. It was in anticipation of this push that we increased our paid field staff and training in August and September- which ensured we can cover as much territory as we can for GOTV. It also meant recruiting poll observers and workers to assist on Election Day, as well as more phone bankers and canvassers.
We are now a team of 20 paid organizers and more than 20 regular volunteers. Depending on the activity and time frame we’ve had up to 1,000+ volunteers at a time (postcard writers). Our team has also been coordinating with other county Democratic party committees to increase outreach. We’re using every means possible to get our voters to vote early, in-person, or by returning their mail-in ballot. If Democrats are to win in Arizona, we need a high turnout.
Here’s a quick recap of some of our team activities:
September - November
Tribal Fairs & Events
White Mountain Apache Tribal Parade - Whiteriver (Several Democratic candidates showed up and participated and walked in the parade. For many this was their first visit.)
Navajo Nation Tribal Parade - Window Rock (Many Democratic candidates showed up and participated and walked in the parade)
Western Navajo Fair & Parade (Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe) - Tuba City
Get Out the Vote Rally with Mark Kelly (Whiteriver and Tuba City)
Early Vote Events
Weekly Canvassing (on tribal lands and bordertowns)
Trainings
Phonebanks
Cultural Competency
Canvassing
Vote Tripling
In-person events and tabling
Home visits and follow ups
Community events
Weekly public spaces and set ups
Poll observer and workers recruitment
Radio and newspaper ads - Maximizing tribal and bordertown media outlets
Voter Assistance and Education
Candidates
Districts
Propositions (10 total that will impact, voting, elections, and more)
Providing transportation
Language translation
Phone-banking
Writing 167,000 personalized postcards to voters
Printing
Slate cards
Trifolds
Posters
Signage
Stickers
Other handouts
Food - We do our best to provide food or snacks at all our events and tabling efforts. Food brings out the people.
Signs
Help candidates with their signage
Party signage
General election information
Early vote information
Many of these efforts are on-going and are critical to reaching voters, especially in rural regions.
Organizer Highlights
We get our fair share of negative and hurtful comments both on and off tribal lands, or the occasional apathetic voter and our team members do their best to have genuine conversations with them or just listen. Then, as a team, we surround and support each other. We don’t do this work alone.
Our team also provides valuable voter assistance like checking voter registration status, proposition and candidate information, how and where to vote, in English and or in Navajo, Hopi, and Apache languages. We are ever grateful to have fluent speakers a part of the team to help with all translations. And should we get requests outside of voter or election information, we’ve been able to tap into our vast network of friends and organizations to help community members.
Lydia Dosela
Lydia Dosela give a presentation in Whiteriver.
“People I’ve been able to visit have said they appreciate the time I take to talk with them about all these offices, peoples, and impacts. We don’t get that very much and so the time I have with them and their families is really helpful. Then some of them will want to get more involved and get their families registered and to vote.” - Lydia Dosela, White Mountain Apache Tribe
Lydia from White Mountain Apache country was getting phone calls about what the Democrats are doing or have done for their community. She’s been able to connect the dots from Washington, DC and AZ Legislature policies directly to community impacts. She was able to discuss voting rights, funding allocated to tribes, and more. She’s also been out in the community talking with voters about how our Party and elections work. Not everyone is tuned in to political nuances, Lydia in providing valuable in-person information and explaining so many more get connected and are brought in by a local community member they trust.
Deydrek Scott
Deydrek Scott, Navajo Nation, after posting signs, door knocking, and getting ready for an early vote rally.
“Home visits are critical for communities like ours where canvassing in cities may be taken for granted, but for our regions because of vast distances and voter databases not working, we rarely get campaigns who pay attention to our communities or know how to engage with our community members. So when we can, we make the effort.” - Deydrek Scott, Navajo Nation
Deydrek in Tuba City, has been just a force in canvassing efforts and putting up signage in his region of the Navajo Nation. He’s also present at weekly local community events and meetings to provide voter assistance. Just yesterday he knocked 95 doors with a fellow organizer! Knocking on doors and putting up signs on tribal lands is different from urban areas and comes with its own challenges and opportunities. Thanks to our organizers like Deydrek, and to volunteers we were able to do more.
Della, Lucy, and Maria
Lucy, Maria, and Della meet up for a matriarchs lunch in Chinle.
Della, Lucy, and Maria are new team members and are all fluent Navajo speakers. The experience and knowledge they all bring is impressive and a welcome addition. Most recently all three team members assisted and translated for the Census 2020 and are now getting out the vote. Della is a mom and full time student who is doing all she can to help guide her children and provide as many opportunities for them. Lucy and Maria are also Family Votes Matriarchs and retired from working with local government agencies. They know their communities well and are providing valuable voter assistance and home visits for many elders and other fluent speakers.
Marge and Brad Tsosie
Marge and Brad pick up supplies in Window Rock.
Marge and her son Brad registered voters and are now working together to reach more family, extended relatives, and community members to vote. Marge is also a fluent Diné speaker and is well versed in community outreach efforts. Brad recently turned 18 years old and mom was there encouraging her son to register to vote. He did. He not only registered to vote, but was helping peers. This will be Brad’s first time voting in an election. “I’m learning a lot. I’m here helping my mom and it feels good to give back.”
Marge and Brad pick up supplies in Window Rock.
Here’s where we need your help
We’re days away and we will spend the dollars we raise on ads, printing, food, fuel, and salaries. This is the moment to make a difference so that we can turn out every possible voter. Thank you for helping us in our important mission.
Donate today! secure.actblue.com/...
Support our Family Vote Matriarchs
Checks may also be mailed to: Navajo County Democrats PO Box 144, Lakeside, AZ 85929
Ahéhee/Thank you
Jaynie Parrish, Executive Director
Navajo County Democrat
