Native Americans fear votes in remote areas could go uncounted

Colleen Benally, who lives on the Navajo Nation reservation in the southwest United States, spends a lot of time in her car. Her daily commute takes three hours, and it is a 45km (28-mile) drive to collect mail from the nearest post office. “It’s just normal for us that we don’t live close,” said Benally, who has been volunteering to help register Navajo residents to vote in next month’s presidential election. But while tribal members are used to the vast distances of desert life, the election has highlighted fears that the geographical isolation of many Native Americans could deprive them of having their votes counted. A pivotal case in a US federal court revolved around their bid to have a deadline extended for the submission of mail-in ballots – a deadline that activists said put Navajo voters at a disadvantage and amounted to voter suppression. The Navajo case in Arizona, which was dismissed on appeal this week, was one of several fought around the country over tribal voting rights. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">