Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

TAHLEQUAH - The Atlanta based Carter Center will again send an observation team to Oklahoma to monitor the July 24 Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) runoff elections, as they did for the primary election held in May of 1999. Cherokees will be voting for the offices of Chief, Deputy Chief, and two CNO Council seats in two districts.

The center's report said the primary election had been managed well but criticized the registration process. Confusion surrounding the registration process is thought to be one of the reasons for the low number of registered voters and for the low number of actual ballots cast. The center's report included suggestions for change.

Many Cherokees complained that they were turned down when they showed up to cast their ballot, the reason given was because they were not properly registered. Some thought if they had voted in the last election they were still eligible to vote and others thought that they only needed to be enrolled. Cherokees-at-large voting absentee also complained of problems.

The last election was only the second held in the CNO, since the Cherokee people had been forced to move to Oklahoma. Previously the chief had been appointed by the U.S. Government. Wilma Mankiller was the first chief to be elected by Cherokee citizens in many years. In the last election, due to a legal technicality which was later cleared up, one of the candidates was disqualified. This caused the present Chief, Joe Byrd, to be installed as chief by default.

There are approximately 200,000 enrolled CNO tribal members of which about 150,000 are of voting age. Only around 26,000 of those eligible, registered to vote and only about half voted in the primary election.

The Carter Center is a nonprofit public policy center founded by former President Jimmy Carter and former first Lady Rosalynn Carter. The purpose of the center is to fight disease, hunger, poverty, conflict, and oppression around the world. The center has monitored elections in 15 countries, including many third world nations.