Curley urges Navajo voters to protect access and turnout

Crystalyne Curley used the Navajo Voters Coalition Conference in Window Rock on June 18 to press a simple warning: Navajo voters cannot treat access as secure heading into the next election cycle. The Navajo Nation Speaker tied turnout to practical needs, including organizing at the chapter level, helping elders reach polling places, expanding voter education and keeping Navajo voices present in county, state and tribal decision-making.

Curley also pointed to the Navajo Nation Council’s newer state caucuses in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah as a way to coordinate legislation affecting Navajo citizens across the region. Curley said those caucuses are one tool for pushing back against proposals that could narrow ballot access and for strengthening communication on voting issues that affect families far from government centers.

In Apache County, many Navajo voters live long distances from county offices and polling sites and often depend on relatives, chapter officials and community organizers to navigate transportation and logistics. Apache-language voting materials are available in the county.

In April, Apache County voted to replace precinct-based polling places with vote centers for the 2026 elections, a shift election advocates had sought for years because of travel burdens and wrong-precinct problems. It is the last Arizona county covering parts of the Navajo Nation to adopt the change.

The move followed a difficult 2024 general election on the Navajo Nation, when polling sites faced printer problems, shortages of provisional ballots and long lines. Some voters waited for hours, and Navajo officials later sought extended voting hours. The Navajo Nation Department of Justice filed a second lawsuit against Apache County on Nov. 14, 2024, after delays in processing early ballots.

Voting-rights advocates have cited Apache County’s 2012 purge of 500 Navajo voters after the county rejected post office boxes and hand-drawn location maps on registration forms.

This year’s Navajo Nation primary has brought its own deadlines. Voter registration closed June 11, 2026, in-person voting began June 23 and runs through July 17, and the Navajo Election Administration certified 123 candidates on April 24.