OKLAHOMAStudy: Native Americans face voting hurdles
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A new study has found that systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in Native American turnout, particularly for presidential elections.
The study, released Nov. 19 by the Brennan Center for Justice, looked at 21 states with federally recognized tribal lands that have a population of at least 5,000 and where more than 20% of residents identify as American Indian or Alaska Native. Researchers found that between 2012 and 2022, voter participation in federal elections was 7 percentage points lower in midterms and 15 percentage points lower in presidential elections than among those living off tribal lands in the same states.
Chelsea Jones, a researcher on the study, said the study suggests some barriers may be insurmountable in predominately Native communities due to a lack of adequate polling places or access to early and mail-in ballots. Many residents on tribal lands have nontraditional addresses, meaning they don't have street names or house numbers, making mail-in voting even more difficult. As a result, many Native American voters rely on P.O. boxes, but the study notes that several jurisdictions will not mail ballots to P.O. boxes.
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Long distances to the polls that do exist on tribal lands and little to no public transportation creates additional hurdles for Native American voters.
Additionally, Jones said they found Native American voters were denied the ability to vote using their tribal IDs in several places, including in states where that is legally allowed. All of these roadblocks to the ballot can create a sense of distrust in the system, which could contribute to lower turnout, Jones said.
ARIZONAAbortion measure opens legal challenges
PHOENIX -- Arizona top officials certified the state's election results on Nov. 25, including voters' approval of a measure that expands abortion access from 15 weeks to the point of fetal viability.
The victory for reproductive rights groups sets the stage for their next battle: challenging other laws on the books in Arizona they say are too restrictive. The 15-week cutoff, for example, allows exceptions only when the mother's life is at risk.
Absent a court order or legislative action, those laws will remain unchanged, even if they conflict with the voter-approved measure. Opponents of the constitutional amendment are preparing a defense.
For now, providers will have discretion in performing abortions beyond 15 weeks. Legal challenges are expected within days, Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a news conference celebrating expanded access.
"The position of the state of Arizona will be that we agree that abortion is legal in our state," Mayes said.
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Cathi Herrod, president of the socially conservative Center for Arizona Policy, said the organization is anticipating legal challenges to current laws regulating abortion and is preparing to "intervene where appropriate."
Among those current laws is one that requires patients to have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure, with the option to view the image and hear an explanation of what it shows. Another criminalizes abortions sought solely because of a genetic abnormality.
"All the laws that have currently been on the books are under question and are subject to possible challenges at some point," said Darrell Hill, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
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CHEYENNE -- The Wyoming Legislature's Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee sponsored two draft bills and a potential efficiency study on Nov. 15, with hopes of diverting additional money and using it more efficiently on the state's highways.
The committee voted 13-1 to sponsor the draft bill titled "Severance tax distribution-highway fund," and unanimously in support of another titled "Vehicle sales tax distribution-highway fund."
The purpose of both bills is to divert tax funds from the general fund to the highway fund in order to address safety and return to a period of growth, as opposed to continuing a period of maintenance, according to committee discussion.
If passed, the draft bill "Severance tax distribution-highway fund" would change the distribution of severance tax to the highway fund. For fiscal year 2026 and thereafter, funds would be deposited to the highway fund.
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The other bill would amend the distribution of sales and use taxes on motor vehicles and trailers and send it the highway fund.
This would not increase the tax on these vehicles; it would simply change where taxpayer dollars are allocated.
"Our position on it is if you're going to buy a vehicle, you're probably going to use it on a road. Therefore, some of those taxes should come to help maintain and work the roads," WYDOT Director Darin Westby said.
NORTH DAKOTARegulators approve CO2 pipeline section
BISMARCK -- North Dakota utility regulators granted approval on Nov. 15 for a span of a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would cross five Midwestern states -- a key victory for the company that has faced vociferous landowner objections and various hurdles and setbacks in its plans.
The state Public Service Commission voted unanimously to approve a siting permit for Summit Carbon Solutions' modified, 333-mile route in North Dakota. The company's proposed $8 billion, 2,500-mile pipeline system would carry tons of planet-warming CO2 emissions from 57 ethanol plants in five states for storage deep underground in North Dakota.
Iowa has approved the project, but other hurdles remain in North Dakota as well as South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska.
Supporters cheer carbon capture projects as a way to combat climate change, with lucrative federal tax credits available for such efforts. The ethanol industry sees Summit's project opening up sustainable aviation fuel markets, a boost for ethanol and No. 1 corn producer Iowa.
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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Interior Secretary, a position with wide influence over natural resources, has touted his state's underground CO2 storage potential as a "geologic jackpot." Carbon-capture skeptics say the technology is untested at scale and allows the fossil-fuel industry to continue largely unchanged.
Summit opponents decry the potential of a pipe rupture releasing hazardous, heavy CO2 gas to flow over the land, endangering people's health and lives. They also fear the taking of their land through eminent domain.
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