Catawba Indian election results upheld

Despite the protests of several candidates in last month’s Catawba Indian Nation elections, the tribal election committee has upheld the results of the elections that mostly returned the incumbents to office.

A seven-person tribal election committee rejected calls for a recount at a meeting Friday and decided results from the July 25 election would stand. Five tribal officers are scheduled to be sworn in for a new four-year term at the Catawba Indian Reservation’s Longhouse at 10 a.m. Saturday.

But candidates who lost some close votes are considering their options for further appeals, challenging the procedures that produced the results.

Several candidates wanted some absentee ballots counted after election officials initially threw them out. Seventy-eight absentee ballots were rejected for being incorrectly handled. Absentee voters received a ballot envelope in which 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.

The number of uncounted absentee ballots exceeded the vote difference in two key races. Incumbent Chief Bill Harris defeated challenger Jason Harris by 25 votes, and Secretary/Treasurer Rod Beck defeated Donald Rodgers by just 18. Both losing candidates filed appeals with the election committee.

“York County Elections and Registration would say, ‘This has not been done right, and it needs to be redone,’” Rodgers said.

Challenging candidates who spoke to the Herald also cited the rejection of eight absentee ballots that were returned to the Longhouse by hand on the day of the vote and said voters didn’t have to sign in before casting their ballot.

Deborah Crisco, who ran for a seat on the tribe’s executive committee, echoed those sentiments. “I’ve worked as a poll-watcher for the county, and I feel like they’re violating people’s rights.”

In a South Carolina state election, the candidates have argued, the votes would have been counted if the intent of the voters who mailed the unsealed ballots was clear, even if they didn’t mail their ballots in line with directions.

That’s true, said Chris Whitmire, spokesman for the State Election Commission, as long as certain standards in state election law are met.

“The key thing is that we receive the voter’s oath and the witness signature,” Whitmire said.

The oath and signature line are included on the return envelope for the ballot. If the ballot and the oath are returned separately – say, if both were mailed back in a manila folder – or if the ballot is returned outside its own sealed envelope, the ballot would still be counted.

“The ‘ballot herein’ envelope is designed to protect the voter’s right to a secret ballot,” Whitmire said. “All it means if they mail it without following the directions is that they’ve given up that right.

“Our policy, in any gray area of the law, is to err on the side of the voter,” he said.

But all ballots were handled according to the tribe’s established procedures, said Catawba spokeswoman Elizabeth Harris. Absentee voters had to follow directions in order to be counted, and absentee ballots had to be received prior to the day of the election. Voters who dropped off on election day were offered the option of casting a ballot at the Longhouse, she said.

Even with the closeness of some races, none fell within the 1 percent mark necessary to trigger a recount, Elizabeth Harris said.

The election committee, which is chosen by the tribe’s General Council, initially did not release total election figures during the period in which candidates had to challenge the results. Even after Friday’s final meeting to consider the challenges, the tribe declined through a spokesperson to release vote totals “outside the tribe” or discuss any specifics of the candidates’ challenge. Instead, the election results were made available to tribe members through the election office at the Longhouse.

A candidate later provided the final vote count to the Herald.

Candidates were not present at Friday’s election committee meeting, Jason Harris said, and he was not informed of the committee’s decision until later on Monday.

He said he was considering other options for appealing the committee’s decision. “There’s no other venue for this unless we go outside the box.”

It’s unclear if losing candidates have an avenue for challenging the election committee’s decision in state court. The Catawba Indian Nation is not a subdivision of the state of South Carolina and operates a tribal government under its own internally adopted rules and constitution as a federally recognized Native American tribe.

Rodgers said he has spoken with Jason Harris about the possibility of taking further action but hasn’t decided yet if he would take part. Crisco said she was eager to see the challenge go forward.

“I hope more people get involved, because I feel like this is wrong,” Crisco said.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Catawba Indian election results upheld."