National Congress of American IndiansEmbassy of Tribal Nations1516 P Street NW | Washington, DC 20005www.NCAI.org | www.NativeVote.org

Increase in American Indian and Alaska Native US Populations

1990

2000

2010

= 1 million AI/AN People

1.9

Key Issues that Bring Native People to the Ballot Box

4 Native US Representatives

61%

39%

Male

Elected Representation in US Government

74 Native State Legislators

Female

If representation in Congress was proportional to the US Native population, we would have 2 Native Senators and 8 Native members of the House.

Actual

Sen

ate

Proportional

20

Hou

se 84

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Tribal Government Sovereignty

Indian Child Welfare

Education

Water

Energy

Gaming

Environmental Impact Issues

Federal Budget& Spending

million

4.1million

5.2million

FAST FACTS

Source: NCSL (2019)

Oregon1 Native Legislators

Oklahoma13 Native Legislators

New Mexico8 Native Legislators

Montana12 Native Legislators

Alaska8 Native Legislators

Arizona6 Native Legislators

Tennessee1 Native Legislators

Maine1 Native Legislators

South Dakota5 Native Legislators

Washington4 Native Legislators

Kansas1 Native Legislator

California2 Native Legislator

Utah1 Native Legislator

Maryland1 Native Legislator

Minnesota3 Native Legislator

North Carolina1 Native Legislator

North Dakota3 Native Legislator

Wyoming2 Native Legislator

Kentucky1 Native Legislator

21 Senators

53 Representatives

369,000

31,00078,000178,000

60,000

800,000

55,000

179,000

97,000

Eligible AI/AN Voters in 2018

AI/AN population as % of state’s total population (18 and over)

104,000

Map Key

%

%NV3

%AZ6

%AK17

%NM11 %

OK12

%CO3

%CA3

%OR3

%WA3 %

MT7%ID3

%WY3

%SD8%ND5 %

MN4

Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) won her 2012 election by a 1%

margin. Heitkamp noted that her only road to Washington, DC was

through Indian Country.

With endorsements from 12 tribal nations, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) was narrowly elected in 2000, creating a 50-50 tie

in the US Senate.

Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) was re-elected by

500 votes in 2002, with the pivotal final votes counted

coming from the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Data rounded to the nearest thousand.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2018 Population Estimates.

In 2018, Senator John Tester (D-MT) won his close re-election

race with less than 20,000 votes, with difference-making

support coming from citizens of tribal nations.

34,000

57,000

14,000

309,000

112,000

Not Registered to Vote

Voting Population

Lower Turnout

Not Registered to Vote

Source: Wang, T. (2012). Ensuring Access to the Ballot for American Indians & Alaska Natives: New Solutions to Strengthen American Democracy. New York, NY: Demos. (Figure 1).Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2010), Race for the Population 18 Years and Over.

34%

1.2 Million

MONTANA: Building a Base of Power

ALASKA: Erosion of Native Districts

State population triples between 1959-2009, though no change in the number of state representatives or legislative districts.

Montana creates six American Indian-majority districts.

Nine American Indians serve in the Montana Legislature, reflecting proportion of American Indian state population.19

90

199

9

1959

-2

00

9 Ballot measure to expand the number of legislative districts fails.

Alaska Redistricting Board merges two Southeast Districts, diminishing rural Native voter impact.

Election loss of long-serving Alaska Native State Senator Albert Kookesh due to redistricting.2

010

20

11

20

12

20

03

20

06

Top 15 Stateswith the Highest Populations of Voting-Age Natives American Indians and Alaska

Natives reported a higher not registered to vote rate as compared to 26.5% of not

registered to vote non-Hispanic Whites.

The turnout rate among American Indian and Alaska Native registered voters is 1

to 10 percentage points lower than the rateof other racial and

ethnic groups.

The power of the

Native Vote has been

significant in state,

local, and important

national races.

Montana tribal nations challenge 1990 redistricting and file case in federal court.

Tribal nations’ influence leads to the appointment of a tribal member as Chair of Redistricting Commission.

34% of the total AI/AN population over age 18, alone or in combination with another race, are not registered to vote – this equals approximately

1.2 million potential new eligible voters.

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) credits her victory in the 2010 election to the

significant power of the Alaska Native vote. With

over 100,000 write-in votes, she was only the

2nd successful US Senate write-in candidate.