Native American voters in Arizona could be instrumental in swinging the election.

Voting data from 2020 shows that a vast majority of voters from tribal lands supported President Joe Biden. “Voter precincts on the Navajo Nation ranged from 60-90% for Biden,” High Country News said. “On some Tohono O’odham Nation precincts, Biden… won 98% of the vote.”

These groups from Arizona helped secure a narrow victory for Biden, who ended up winning by only 10,000 votes, or a 1% margin.

With this method becoming a potentially key way to gain voters, the Democratic National Committee has begun to target these groups.

On Oct. 14, the DNC announced an ad campaign called “I Will Vote,” which aims to specifically reach out to Native voters.

The campaign will feature digital, print and radio ads and will cost in the six-figure range. The ads are slated to be shown to Native voters in Arizona and North Carolina, two massively important swing states, as well as Montana and Alaska.

“Democrats are meeting Native voters where they are, investing in our third ad campaign this cycle dedicated to reaching Native communities, with vital information about voting in this election,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said.

“We know that this upcoming election is critical for our Tribal nations, with our freedoms, access to health care and education, and the fundamental right to self-determination and Tribal sovereignty on the ballot,” Harrison added. “The Democratic Party is taking no vote or community for granted, engaging every facet of our diverse coalition of voters in order to elect Democrats up and down the ballot this November.”

With that being said, the presidential election isn’t the only reason Native voters are motivated to vote.

This year is even more significant because it marks the 100-year anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act, which gave Indigenous people U.S. citizenship and consequently the right to vote.

However, even with the passage of this act, states have continued to try and prevent Native voters from voting. In Utah, for instance, people living on tribal lands were considered nonresidents, and thus, ineligible to vote. Other states, including Arizona, have also banned Native voters from being allowed to vote in the past.

It wasn’t until the Civil Rights Movement where the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed that Indigenous people were finally guaranteed the right to vote.

Unfortunately, it seems that, once again, states are trying to suppress Native Americans’ ability to vote.

The Legislature of the State of Arizona passed the Arizona House Bill 2492, a law requiring voters registering for federal elections to provide a government-issued photo ID that either contains or is paired with another document that states their physical address.

The only problem is that more than 40,000 homes on Native American reservations across Arizona are without physical addresses.

These restrictions don’t do much to increase the security and legitimacy of the voting process, but instead directly target vulnerable Native Americans.

The Tohono O’odham Nation and the Gila River Indian Community sued and the law was eventually reversed, with U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton ruling in favor of Native voters and striking down the requirement.

This situation was all possible due to the Supreme Court, which struck down a section of the federal Voting Rights Act that required counties and states to receive clearance before changing procedures.

This quickly got out of hand, as several states have been passing unchecked laws to ensure that the voting process of groups such as Native Americans is as frustrating and obstacle-ridden as possible.

One hundred years ago, the goal was to take their vote away. Today, the goal is to make them give up before even having the chance to vote.

However, many Native Americans are unfazed by the opposition.

“We’re thinking today, but think for our future,” Susanna Osife, an ambassador who is focused on getting Native Americans of the Gila River Indian Community to vote, said. “Our land, our water, our education, our healthcare…We have to make sure that all this is being kept safe for our community’s future.”