PHOENIX — An appeals court has refused to give an extra 10 days after Election Day to count ballots mailed by Navajo Nation members living on the Arizona portion of the tribe’s reservation.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a later deadline would burden officials who wouldn’t be able to tell from ballots whether voters are members of the tribe.
The court said Navajos who sought the extension because of slow mail delivery on the reservation had no legal standing to sue and raised questions about the difficulty of using information on ballots to try to distinguish between Navajos living on tribal lands and other voters.
