The Campaign Legal Center, Osborn Maledon and the Indian Legal Clinic represented the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in a lawsuit to restore the early voting location before the 2020 election. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe recently reached a settlement with Pima County to restore an in-person early voting location on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation. 

The right to vote for Native Americans in Arizona was only secured in 1948, and despite this right on paper, barriers to voting continue to persist and prevent Native American communities from fully participating. One such barrier was the closing of the early voting location on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s reservation in 2018 by then Pima County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has been fighting to restore the site since it was originally closed in 2018 and have used every available tool to have the site restored. 

Now, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s efforts are finally coming to fruition with this settlement agreement, which will restore the in-person early voting location on the reservation and provide voters living on the reservation an opportunity to vote in-person early, safely, and in their community just as other Arizonans have voted across Pima County for the past four years. The settlement agreement also provides for cooperation on voter registration and outreach.  

Student attorneys Aspen Miller (’21), Jens Camp (’21) worked with Professor Ferguson-Bohnee and Native Vote Fellow Torey Dolan (’19) prepare for the preliminary injunction hearing last fall. We have been proud to stand alongside the Campaign Legal Center and Osborn Maledon in representing the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in their fight to protect their right to vote and are glad that the current Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly recognizes the importance of this site and has worked with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to reach this agreement.