Following Friday’s decision by the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, the Navajo Election Administration has scheduled an election for the Office of the President and Vice President to occur on Tuesday, April 21. The two presidential candidates will be Russell Begaye and Joe Shirley, Jr.
In addition to the presidency, the election will also be held to fill six positions for the Navajo Board of Election of Supervisors as ordered by the Supreme Court.
Executive director of the NEA Edison Wauneka, explained that the date of the election will allow the NEA to comply with the court’s order to fill the vacant board positions. The court states, “The election for these vacancies shall be held in conjunction with the presidential election.”
To meet the filing and certification requirements for the vacant board positions, the NEA determined April 21 to be the earliest election date. Wauneka added that his office was unable to move forward with the election prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday.
The NEA also issued a notice today to inform the public of filing extensions for three of the vacant NBOES positions for the Chinle Agency, Eastern Agency, and the Western Agency. The filing period for the three positions closes on March 9, 2015 at 5 p.m. Candidate applications may be filed at the agency sub-offices of the NEA.
The election timeline is as follows:
March 23: Voter registration closes/absentee ballots become available upon request
April 6: mailed absentee ballot applications must be physically in NEA offices
April 17: Last day for walk-in absentee voting
April 21: Election day
May 1: Grievance filing deadline
May 4: Certification of election results
May 12: Oath of Office for the Office of the President and Vice President
Council Delegate Dwight Witherspoon (Black Mesa, Forest Lake, Hardrock, Pinon, Whippoorwill) currently has legislation pending Council’s approval to provide funding for the Navajo Election Administration to hold the election.
The Council is scheduled to consider the legislation on March 13, during a special session.