Indian vote seen as key

By Joe Kafka, Associated Press Writer | Saturday, October 19, 2002

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PIERRE - It's no coincidence that various campaigns are under way to increase the number of American Indians who will vote in South Dakota on Nov. 5.

Efforts by the state Democratic Party and United Sioux Tribes have gained public attention because of allegations that election laws are being flouted. Individual tribes also are involved in voter-registration efforts.

Indian turnout typically is poor in elections, but the potential political clout has not been lost on the Democratic Party, primarily because Indian reservations are a stronghold of Democratic sentiment.

"You go with the folks who tend to vote your way," Bret Healy, state Democratic Party executive director, said. "But more importantly, Native American populations are under-represented in the vote totals in South Dakota, and both parties ought to do something to address that by getting them involved."

If thousands more Indian voters go to the polls next month, that easily could sway close election races.

If recent independent polls are correct, races are close between Democrat Stephanie Herseth and Republican Bill Janklow for the U.S. House, and Democrat Tim Johnson and Republican John Thune for the U.S. Senate.

The Johnson-Thune contest is believed to be especially tight, and Democrats hope more Indian voters will spell victory for Johnson, the incumbent. With control of the U.S. Senate at stake, the race has drawn national attention.

Several thousand votes one way or the other, or perhaps even fewer, could decide who wins. Johnson, seeking his second term, won his Senate seat in 1996 by only 8,579 votes out of 324,487 votes cast.

"Every new voter can make a difference," Healy said, explaining that the Democratic Party is making its biggest push in years to register voters both on and off Indian reservations.

"The Democratic Party is finally making a serious effort to match what the GOP has done for years in getting as many folks to vote as possible," Healy said.

The drive also extends to absentee balloting, he said.

"We've sent absentee-ballot applications to nearly every registered Democrat household, whether on the reservation or not," he said.

Republicans also have concentrated on encouraging people to register and vote, Laura Schoen, state GOP executive director, said.

"With the importance of the Senate race, all summer long we've had people go door to door campaigning for the candidates, and one of the things they've done is register people to vote along the way," she said.

"The get-out-the-vote effort is likely going to be the driving force in who wins the election," Schoen said.

The Republican official does not fault Democrats for focusing on Indian voters.

"It's a good political practice to try and register as many voters as you think support your candidates and your cause," she said.

Kathleen Flakus, auditor for Tripp and Todd counties, reports a big increase in the number of registered voters in Todd County, which is wholly within the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. A recent tally showed 4,766 registered voters in Todd County, compared to 4,100 for the June primary.

Most of the new registrants are Indians, Flakus said. However, many voter-registration cards received in recent months came from people who already were registered, she said, calling it a long-standing problem.

Sue Roust, Minnehaha County auditor, said a new, computerized statewide voter-registration file being kept by the secretary of state will eliminate duplicate registrations.

"We are better able to catch those now than we used to be," she said.

Roust expects a large general-election turnout, based on the number who have registered to vote for the first time.

"We have had unusually high registration all year long," she said, adding that 3,000 new voters have signed up in Minnehaha County since Sept. 1.

The voter-registration deadline for next month's election is Monday.