Navajo Nation approves $201,000 to improve election access and security
The Navajo Nation moved $201,200 to fix polling access, security and staffing gaps before the 2026 general election, with Chinle among the communities under pressure.
The Navajo Nation Council approved $201,200 to pay for accessible polling sites, poll worker help and safer handling of voting materials before the 2026 general election. The election system has no dedicated revenue source and is still trying to finish the 2025 Navajo Nation Council reapportionment plan.
Carl R. Slater, vice chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, sponsored Legislation 0094-26. The original request called for $150,000 from the Unreserved, Undesignated Fund Balance to cover expenses tied to reapportionment and the 2026 general election, but lawmakers expanded the funding during hours of questioning before giving final approval on July 2.
Interim Election Administration Executive Director Veronica Curley said the Board of Election Supervisors had recommended reapportionment Plans 5, 3 and 4, in that order. The council has also been dealing with a separate proposal to change the Navajo Nation primary election date.
The funding supports poll worker assistance, voting equipment and accommodations for voters with visual, hearing and other accessibility needs. It expands Navajo language interpretation for elders and others who need help at the polls.
Curley said the election administration is working with chapters, schools and community partners to find accessible polling sites in communities affected by facility closures, including Chinle. The funding strengthens security through better tracking of voting materials, including secured containers and numbered lock seals, so ballots and supplies can be monitored more closely from site to site.
A separate April 8 legislative summary proposed funding for the Navajo Election Administration to accommodate voters with disabilities, and paired that request with $8,695,132 for accessibility deficiencies in chapter houses and other public facilities. Slater also said the council planned to make election-board stipends a fixed cost in the next budget after they had only been funded for half the fiscal year.
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