Muscogee voter registration drive slated ahead of Wednesday's deadline

OklahomaPoliticsCommunity Indigenous

Published: 08/19/2021, 5:58 PM

Edited: 08/19/2021, 10:09 PM

(TULSA, Okla.) Muscogee voters will make history this September as they vote whether or not to amend their constitution and guarantee free press.

The question is printed on the backside of the Primary Election ballot, but the deadlines to register and request an absentee ballot are fast approaching.

VNN will hold a registration drive to provide resources and information to Muscogee citizens regarding the election process and significance of the free press ballot question on:

Monday, August 23

8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Tulsa Creek Community Center

8611 S. Union Ave

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Absentee ballot request forms must be received by the Muscogee Nation Election Board by 5 pm Wednesday, August 25. They can be mailed, emailed, or faxed.

For those wanting to vote in person, voter registration forms must be received by September 8.

Early voting will be held on September 15 and 16 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Primary Election will be held on September 18 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Here’s a list of polling locations for Muscogee voters.

The Muscogee Nation’s tribal-funded independent press organization Mvskoke Media has videos with the National Council Seat B candidates on the Primary Election ballot on their YouTube channel.

A VNN affiliate, Mvskoke Media has been pushing for constitutionally guaranteed free press since the Carter Center formally recommended it in 2019.

Mvskoke Media Director Angel Ellis said last year’s McGirt V. Oklahoma ruling was a catalyst to fully embracing tribal sovereignty.

“To make that leap further into the ability for citizens to vote to constitutionally protect their free press, like it's never happened in this country for a tribal nation,” Ellis said. “And we're out here and we're in space, right, as far as where it's going to go and it's going to end up.”