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TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - The Cherokee Nation has registered more than 9,000 new voters since June in an effort to make sure that Cherokee citizens make their voices heard during Oklahoma’s general election on November 5.

“We registered voters in the Cherokee Nation Health Clinics in Bartlesville, Nowata, Jay, Salina, Stilwell, Muskogee and Sallisaw, as well as the Indian Health Service hospitals in Claremore and Tahlequah,” said Diane Kelley, who helped lead the voter registration effort for the Cherokee Nation.

The Cherokee Nation also registered voters at Human Services and Career Services field sites, Head Start and child care centers, food distribution sites, educational programs, and the Cherokee Nation Tribal Registration and automobile tag offices.

“Anywhere we are in contact with the public, we were signing people up to register,” Kelley said.

Kelley also said that the many Cherokees were already registered, and the 9,000 additional voters make the Cherokee vote very important in northeastern Oklahoma, particularly because of voter education efforts initiated by the Cherokee Nation.

“In an effort to educate voters in the local areas, the Cherokee Nation formed partnerships with the local Chambers of Commerce and sponsored candidate forums in some of the counties,” Kelley said.

The Cherokee Nation will also mail out a voter guide just before the election to nearly 40,000 tribal households in northeastern Oklahoma.

“The Cherokee Nation does not endorse candidates,” said Chad Smith, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. “But we feel the best candidates for federal, state and local office understand that a strong Cherokee Nation is good for all Oklahomans, Cherokee and non-Cherokee alike.”

In the voter guide, candidates had a chance to respond to present their views on issues important to Cherokee citizens.

The Cherokee Nation has placed several signs along highways near their offices reminding the public that November 5 is Election Day. The Cherokee Nation and its instrumentalities have more than 3000 employees who wear distinctive, red “Get Out the Vote” t-shirts every Friday, and who turned out in force during the primary election.

“We like to remind everyone that there are a lot of Cherokees out there,” Smith said. “And we all vote.”