The chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party on Friday urged the Benson County Commission to have an Election Day polling place in Fort Totten, N.D., to make voting easier for residents of the Spirit Lake Reservation.
It's the first year Benson County has used a mail-in voting system. The county is legally required to have at least one polling place open on Nov. 2, but the location will be at the county courthouse in Minnewaukan, N.D.
The party issued a news release Friday that said Democratic-NPL officials believe it is necessary to have a place to vote on the reservation "to ensure the voting rights of the residents."
The release said many American Indians lack transportation to travel to Minnewaukan to cast their vote, and the use of post office boxes makes it difficult to vote by absentee or mail-in methods.
Mark Schneider, chairman of the party, said in a written statement that it's "imperative" the state does everything it can to make sure every resident has access to the polls.
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"The lack of a polling place on the Spirit Lake Reservation puts an undue burden on the residents of Spirit Lake to exercise their right to vote," he wrote. "Even potential disenfranchisement is too much. What is going on here? Hasn't there always been a polling place on the Spirit Lake Reservation?"
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who serves as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, sent a letter earlier this month to the chairman of the Benson County Commission urging them to open a polling location on the reservation.
