Thank you Daily Kos community for your generosity! With your support Navajo, Hopi, and Apache organizers have traveled hundreds of miles, made thousands of phone calls, mailed even more forms, flyers, stickers, and masks. And a few even started tabling and knocking on doors from a safe distance of course.
There is an urgency to connect every Navajo, Hopi, and Apache citizen to make sure everyone is registered to vote. This is the time to push: October 5th is Arizona’s voter registration deadline and we can’t leave anything to chance. To save the Court we need your help. We have to flip the Senate and Arizona Native voters can do it.
The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg raises another level of gravity. We must do whatever we can to send Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House and to elect Mark Kelly to the Senate.
The appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice could define our future for decades — and the election of Mark Kelly could save the country from Donald Trump.
That’s because Kelly will take office as soon as the election is certified, around Nov. 30. That’s one less vote in Mitch McConnell’s majority.
Arizona is going to be close — and could be a blue state. It all depends on what we do now. That’s why we need your support now, today, to carry this message to the Native voters in this state.
More than 20 Native organizers and volunteers are helping to hand write postcards, radio scripts, hang homemade signs, and sending thousands of text messages to get that word out.
Organizer Stories
Joanne Peshlakai and Aaron Tilden
Last week organizers Joanne Peshlakai and Aaron Tilden set up a voter education table in Window Rock, Arizona, and will do so again this week.
Joanne has been working with elders closely for many years. She works the phone diligently and visits people in their home (safely). In fact, she was making calls in between visitors who stopped by the table.
The voter table is also a family affair. Her husband took his lunch break and helped Aaron set up the canopy, table and chairs. The signs were authentic, homemade, showing the passion for this election. Voters are receptive to the Biden/Harris message. Half stayed in their vehicles, and got registered to vote. They took the literature and talked about what was important.
Many people had questions about their registration as well as a few first time voters. Some worried about voting by mail. Many people needed help protecting their right to vote, even if their only address was a post office box.
A lot of Republicans in Arizona are questioning the right of these voters. You can help us with the right answer, everyone votes. Native Americans included.
Janice Filfred is a part-time field organizer, fluent in the Navajo language, and in her full-time job helps with transportation and health care issues on the Navajo Nation. She and volunteer Priscilla Weaver set up a mobile registration “table” over the weekend in the rural community of Teen Nos Pos, Arizona, Navajo Nation. We’ll have more Native organizers setting up tables and drive-up voter registration pods this week for National Voter Registration Week.
Jonathan Yazzie, is one of our amazing field organizers who is helping to turn out Navajo Nation voters. Organizing in the midst of a pandemic is not easy, but our team is doing the work. Listen to Jonathan’s story here: https://soundcloud.com/nativevote20/jonathan-yazzie-field-organizer-from-tolani-lake-az-navajo-nation
Beatrice Begay is an elementary school teacher in Chinle, AZ, Navajo Nation and joined our team a few weeks ago. Beatrice works part-time as a field organizer registering voters and had some time to reflect during Navajo Nation’s long weekend lockdowns. She was reminded of the work her mother and father did in the community. Listen to Beatrice’s story here: https://soundcloud.com/nativevote20/dad-was-right-beatrice-begay-navajo-nation
ABC News Interview
Our work is being noticed! Thank you Martha Raddatz (ABC News) and team for shedding some light on the power of Native voters in Arizona. Field organizer Joanne Peshlakai, my mother Rosie Parrish, and I shared a bit of our stories from Navajo Nation. We talked about getting out the vote in AZ on tribal lands during the pandemic, #BidenHarris2020, the hope we have. Watch the segment here:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/navajo-nation-reeling-coronavirus-focuses-attention-elections/story?id=72958760
Help us turn Arizona blue!
Support our field team and donate today at: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/navajoncof
Ahéhee'/Thank you!
Jaynie Parrish
Navajo-Hopi Campaign Director
Navajo County Democrats-Northeast Arizona Native Democrats
Stay connected with us:
Twitter @neazNativeDems
Instagram @neazNativeDems
Facebook @neaznativedemocrats
Website: neaznativedemocrats.org/