Tohatchi residents upset by election misinformation

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — A press release issued by the Speaker's Office caused a ruckus among voters in Tohatchi on Thursday and Friday.

A news brief from the Speakers Office, published in a local newspaper on Thursday that stated an election for a new chapter house president was to take place that same day, prompted angry community members to flood the chapter house with phone calls.

"People were really irate," said Edwin J. Begay, interim chapter president and elected vice president. "They felt their voting rights were being violated because they were not informed."

The position for chapter house president has been vacant since early January after former president Herman R. Morris (Tohatchi/Naschitti) was elected to the Council. Since then, the community has held planning meetings with officials from the Navajo Nation Election Administration to discuss procedures to fill the position. The community was scheduled to meet with election office officials Feb. 21 to plan an election.

"At no time was there any commitment by the Tohatchi Chapter to host this election on Feb. 15, nor were any potential candidates discussed," said Begay, in a letter to Speaker Lawrence Morgan.

"It is disturbing to learn that your administration has changed the protocol for the Navajo Nation Election Administration to administer the proper process for hosting an election," he stated in the letter. "More alarming is that the notice describes that community membership would elect their new chapter president by secret ballot and then announced the name of an individual as the sole candidate."

The press release drafted by Public Information Officer Sararesa Begay stated, "According to council delegate Peterson Yazzie (Naschitti/Tohatchi), the voting will be a secret ballot, and Art Allison is running for chapter president."

"Why is this candidate even being named?," Begay wrote.

Begay said no nominations have been made, nor any candidacy been declared, including by Allison. Allison was a former Executive Director of the Economic Development under the Albert Hale Administration.

Neither Yazzie or Allison could be reached for comment.

Begay said at least 30 people showed up at the chapter house Thursday to vote, where chapter staff had to explain to them there was no election, and that they didn't know why the Speaker's Office released the information.

Because Navajo elections laws require community members be informed of elections well in advance of the election day, Begay said people were legitimately upset.

"This press release did some damage," said Edwin Begay. "People were mislead."

Some voting community members, Begay added, took off work and drove several hours because they thought there was an election.

Local residents weren't the only ones upset when they heard about the supposed last-minute election. Begay said he also received a number of phone calls from angry students in the Phoenix, Tucson and Albuquerque areas, who accused the chapter house of violating their voting rights.

Begay and council delegates Yazzie and Morris have not discussed the issue. Begay is asking for a public apology from the Speakers Office to clarify confusion among voters.