Brazen disenfranchisement of many AZ Native American voters by you know who!

This is an image of Blue Canyon in Northeast Arizona.

Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services reports,

PHOENIX — President Trump's reelection committee is fighting an attempt by Navajo Nation members to force Arizona to count mail-in ballots from reservation voters postmarked by but delivered after Election Day.

Legal papers filed by Trump's committee and other Republican interests contend that counting such votes "would unquestionably affect the share of votes that candidates in the state of Arizona receive.''

Their attorney, Brett Johnson, provides no specific arguments about who would benefit. But he contends that counting late-received ballots "would change the share of votes those candidates receive and give preference to one specific type of voter over all others.''

Voter registration records suggest Republicans have reason to worry if more ballots from reservation residents are counted.

Legislative District 7 takes in most of the reservation lands in Arizona, including residents of the Navajo, Hopi, Hualapai, Fort Apache and San Carlos tribes.

There are some non-reservation communities, including St. Johns and Winslow, in the district. But nearly two-thirds of district residents are Native American, according to figures prepared when the Independent Redistricting Commission drew the lines nearly a decade ago.

More to the point, the most recent figures from the Secretary of State's Office give Democrats a better than two-to-one advantage in voter registration in the district.

The Trump committee's legal move drew derision from O.J. Seamans, co-director of Four Directions, a Native American organization that helped craft the lawsuit filed by Navajo members.

"I don't feel that the objections they're making really make any sense,'' Seamans said. "Basically what they're stating is that individuals are going to vote a certain way so we shouldn't allow them equality. That's not what democracy is about.''

The lawsuit filed late last month in federal court contends the slow mail service to and from the reservation means many tribal members get their requested early ballots late, giving them less time to fill them out. Then, it can take close to a week between the time a ballot is mailed from a reservation address to arrive at county election offices.

The result, the plaintiffs contend, is that the system effectively disenfranchises people whose ballots do not arrive by the current statutory deadline of 7 p.m. on Election Day. So they want a court order requiring counties to tally anything postmarked by that deadline.

That solution drew opposition from the Donald J. Trump for President Inc. committee along with various national, state and county Republican organizations that Johnson represents.

Johnson pointed out that the proposal means a ballot from Winslow [which has easy access to I-40] would have to be received by Navajo County officials by the 7 p.m. deadline but one from Kayenta, on the Navajo Reservation, would get extra time.

"It would treat the ballots of specified citizens differently than other similarly situated voters within the same county,'' Johnson wrote.

Seamans doesn't see it that way. He said the lawsuit seeks to give all Arizonans equal time to cast their early ballots and ensure that the votes are counted.

Studies of mail service have shown that off-reservation residents have two-thirds more time to vote than on the reservation, he said.

Given the brazenness of Trump's recent efforts to downgrade service of the United States Postal Service, this situation should be very clear to the courts.

"Regardless of how they try to paint the picture, that's what this is about: equality,'' Seamans said.

Johnson did concede some partisan reason for the Trump committee and other Republicans interceding.

The images at the top of the page are included for perspective and examples but still do not fully depict the remoteness of the district. Many of the Native American residents of Legislative District 7 do not have their own automobiles or trucks.