In These Times has this detailed story about how badly vote-by-mail worked in 2014 in San Juan County, Utah, for the parts of the county that are in the Navajo Reservation.
In These Times has this detailed story about how badly vote-by-mail worked in 2014 in San Juan County, Utah, for the parts of the county that are in the Navajo Reservation.
Woodward is telling some porkies. In 2010, Utah had a senatorial and a special gubernatorial election. In 2014, the only statewide race was for AG. Turnout was down in 9 of 13 precincts that were majority white. It was up in 2 of the 3 Monticello precincts – but this was concurrent with major shifts in registration among the 3 precincts. Either large numbers of voters moved, or the precinct boundaries were adjusted. The other two white precincts had tiny numbers of voters – one increased from 4 to 10, and the other from 21 to 23. They were one of 6 small precincts that already had all-mail balloting. The “local race” was the county commissioner race for District 3. Either Woodward looked on dull-eyed when she was told this, or she understood why turnout was high in the district, and it didn’t fit her narrative. District 3 is the overwhelmingly-majority Navajo district. In 2014, Navajo precincts were 756 Democratic, to 139 Republican in straight-ticket voting. Since the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, it appears that there is a strong personality component to voting. In 2006, Kenneth Maryboy defeated the incumbent Manuel Morgan in the primary, but Morgan ran as a write-in in the general securing 38% of the vote. In 2010, Maryboy defeated an opponent in the primary and was unopposed in the general election. In 2014, Maryboy finished 3rd in the county caucus and was not on the primary ballot. Rebecca Benally defeated Roger Atcitty in the primary. In the general election, Benally defeated Manuel Morgan, now running as a Republican for the office he had held as a Democrat from 2002 to 2006, Roger Atcitty running as a write-in after losing in the primary, and Kenneth Maryboy running as a write-in after losing in the caucus, and also losing in the primary to become president of the Navajo Nation. So the question is how some areas heard about the 4-way race for county commissioner and Red Mesa did not. A possible source of confusion was the Navajo Nation election also held on November 2, 2014, along with confusion after one of the candidates for president was not constitutionally qualified.