Tribal members rallied last year in support of a Navajo Nation presidential candidate who was later disqualified due to his lack of fluency in the Navajo language. Photo from Facebook
The results of a historic referendum on the Navajo Nation have not been certified because a grievance was filed, The Farmington Daily-Times reports. According to the unofficial results, 52.5 percent of voters approved a referendum on July 21 to ease the fluency standard for the tribe's top politicians. But the outcome won't be certified until the Office of Hearings and Appeals resolves a grievance filed by LaVerne Joe, the vice president of the Klagetoh Chapter in Arizona. Joe alleges that election officials allowed a poster that advocated for the referendum to be displayed inside the chapter house as ballots were being cast. Tribal members there supported the referendum with 65 percent of the vote. "I know it won't change the numbers," Joe told the paper of her grievance, which she filed as a private citizen. Presidential and vice presidential candidates will no longer have to demonstrate fluency in the Navajo language once the referendum is certified. Get the Story:
Grievance filed in Navajo language fluency referendum (The Farmington Daily-Times 8/6)
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