Indian bar association offers election day help
The Oklahoma Indian Bar Association is offering Indian voters assistance on election day.

Indian voters can call OIBA's Election Protection 2008 Project at (405) 272-9241 on November 4. The group wants to make sure no one has problems with issues like identification cards.

"If they do have problems, we'll be available by telephone to help them sort out what to do to assist them in exercising their right to vote," said Joseph Williams, co-chair of the project.

Indian voters in Oklahoma can use their tribal IDs for photo identification. Those without a photo ID can bring a secondary document such as a utility bill, bank statement or even a tribal car tag to the polls as long as it contains their name and address.

"We want our tribal elders who may be voting for the first time and new registrants to know that they should bring these documents along to the polls as a precaution on Election Day," said Arvo Mikkanen, another co-chair.

American Indians and Alaska Natives make up 7.2 percent of the state population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.