Catawba tribal election results challenged

The results of last weekend’s elections in the Catawba Indian Nation are under challenge, with close results in at least two races being contested by losing candidates, one of whom is questioning the conduct of the entire tribal vote.

The nation’s election committee this week reviewed challenges to the election results from Jason Harris, an executive committee member who was running for Catawba chief, and from Donald Rodgers, a former chief who ran for secretary/treasurer.

No action was taken at Tuesday’s committee meeting, as candidates still have until Friday to file challenges to the election results, said Catawba spokeswoman Elizabeth Harris. Tribal election officials did not disclose the number of challenges already received or whether other candidates have already filed formal complaints.

Four incumbents were re-elected to four-year terms as tribal officers on Saturday, but the committee charged with counting the ballots has not released final vote totals for the election. Elizabeth Harris said the tribe will wait until the challenge period ends Friday to release those numbers.

Jason Harris said prior to Tuesday’s election committee meeting that he was contesting the conduct of the entire election, citing procedural issues in how ballots were counted.

Some Catawba members who were mailed absentee ballots dropped them off in person Saturday at the Longhouse on the tribe’s York County reservation, where poll workers were conducting the election. Those ballots were thrown out by the election committee, although Jason Harris said nothing in the tribe’s election rules should prevent voters from presenting absentee ballots in person.

Other ballots were excluded despite the intention of the voter being clear, Jason Harris alleges. Seventy-eight absentee ballots were rejected by the election committee for reasons such as the ballot being mailed in the wrong envelope, he said. Absentee voters received a ballot envelope to seal their ballot and a separate mailing envelope to return it to the tribe, but many voters returned their ballot in a single envelope.

“There were a lot of procedural ambiguities,” Jason Harris said.

Those votes may have made a difference in the chief’s race in particular. Jason Harris said only 25 votes separated him from incumbent Chief Bill Harris, who won re-election.

But Bill Harris said he believes the vote-counting followed the established procedures for handling the election, which sets out under what circumstances ballots can be excluded when they aren’t handled according to the directions. Absentee ballots must be mailed in prior to the election date, for example, and can’t be accepted the day of, Bill Harris said.

The chief also questioned the specifics of his opponent’s allegations. He agrees with the closeness of the race, but points out the vote totals and information on what ballots were excluded had not been released by the election committee.

“How does he know how the vote was handled?” Bill Harris said. “The candidates have not been told that. I haven’t been told that.”

Even if the votes are recounted, Bill Harris is confident the outcome won’t be affected.

“I don’t think it’s going to change anything,” Bill Harris said. “I’m looking forward to the next four years.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Catawba tribal election results challenged."