HOUSE MEMORIAL 115

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Derrick J. Lente

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO CONVENE A NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING INFORMATION TASK FORCE.

     WHEREAS, Native Americans are a diverse demographic, with various languages and cultural distinctions defining each tribe; and

     WHEREAS, Native Americans make up just one and seven-tenths percent of the United States population, but in New Mexico, Native Americans comprise ten and six-tenths percent of the population; and

     WHEREAS, as a voting block, Native Americans were the last group in the United States to get the right to vote, and American Indians are the only ethnicity that the United States census bureau does not track when it comes to election data, according to public broadcasting service data; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico Native Americans were barred from voting until 1948, when Miguel Trujillo of the Pueblo of Isleta won a federal lawsuit to secure the right to vote for all New Mexico Native Americans; and

     WHEREAS, historically, Native Americans have some of the lowest voter turnout rates of any ethnic group in the country; and

     WHEREAS, information regarding Native American voting education and information is lacking in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, problems hindering New Mexico Native Americans from voting cannot be addressed without adequate information about the problems facing these voters; and

     WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to study what voter education efforts and information are provided to New Mexico Native Americans; and

     WHEREAS, efforts to prohibit voting disenfranchisement in Native American communities and a review of the precincts, voting locations and voting requirements affecting New Mexico Native American voters would provide valuable information; and

     WHEREAS, information about ways to engage tribal members in voting in federal, state, county and local elections could assist the secretary of state in future elections;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of state be requested to convene a Native American voting information task force; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Native American voting information task force be made up of five members, appointed by the secretary of state, to include a member of the Navajo Nation, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, a member of the Mescalaro Apache Tribe, a member of a pueblo and a Native American who resides in an urban area; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Native American voting information task force be requested to gather information and make findings and recommendations in the following areas:

          A. Native American voting education efforts and problems facing voters;

          B. efforts to prohibit voting disenfranchisement in Native American communities and a review of precincts, voting locations and voting requirements affecting New Mexico Native American voters; and

          C. ways to engage tribal members in voting in federal, state, county and local elections; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Native American voting information task force be requested to report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim committee by October 1, 2017; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of state, the secretary of Indian affairs, the twenty-three federally recognized Native American tribes of New Mexico, the offices of New Mexico's county clerks and each member of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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