At One Nation Every Vote (OneV), we believe in the power of history to educate and inspire civic participation. As part of our series on the OneV’s Top 20 Moments in American Voting History, we’re counting down pivotal events that expanded voting rights. This week, we highlight moment #19: Arizona and New Mexico Extend Voting Rights to Native Americans (1948)—a landmark moment in the fight for full enfranchisement.
Though the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted U.S. citizenship to Native Americans, many states, particularly in the West, still denied them the right to vote. States such as Arizona and New Mexico justified this disenfranchisement by citing legal loopholes, including claims that Native Americans living on reservations were under federal jurisdiction and therefore not state residents. These restrictions meant that thousands of Indigenous people were systematically excluded from the democratic process.1948: A Landmark Victory for Native American Voting Rights
The turning point came in 1948, when two legal cases—Harrison v. Laveen (Arizona) and Trujillo v. Garley (New Mexico)—challenged the denial of voting rights to Native Americans.
- In Harrison v. Laveen, Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, two members of the Mohave-Apache Tribe, attempted to register to vote in Arizona but were denied by the county recorder, who claimed they were “wards of the government” and thus ineligible. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in their favor, striking down the state’s discriminatory policies.
- Similarly, in Trujillo v. Garley, Miguel Trujillo, a WWII veteran and citizen of the Isleta Pueblo, was refused voter registration in New Mexico. The court ruled that denying Native Americans the right to vote violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
These rulings forced Arizona and New Mexico—the last two states to withhold voting rights from Native Americans—to grant them full access to the ballot.
The Impact and Ongoing Challenges
The 1948 decision was a monumental step forward, but barriers to Native American voting persisted. Even after securing the right to vote, Indigenous communities faced obstacles such as:
- Voter suppression tactics, including literacy tests and poll taxes, which disproportionately affected Native voters.
- Limited access to polling places, especially in remote tribal lands.
- Language barriers, as many Native Americans spoke languages not supported in election materials.
- State-level restrictions, such as North Dakota’s controversial voter ID law, which disproportionately impacted Native American voters as recently as 2018.
Despite these challenges, the activism sparked by the 1948 rulings laid the foundation for continued progress. Native American leaders and organizations have since fought for greater voter access, including protections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and modern initiatives aimed at increasing Indigenous voter turnout.
Looking Ahead: Moment #18
This historic victory was a crucial moment in the ongoing fight for voting rights, proving that legal battles and grassroots activism could dismantle unjust barriers. But the story doesn’t end here—next week, we’ll reveal Moment #18 in our countdown of the most significant expansions of voting rights in American history.
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