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Amy Croover will work with Montana Democrats to encourage more Native Americans to register and vote. (Photo via press release.)
Politics is usually about policy choices. But it’s also about basic election mechanics, figuring out who does what.
This is Trahant Reports.
The Montana Democratic Party hired Amy Croover as director of its Native Vote program. Her task is to increase the number of Native American voters.
The message is significant. Montana Democrats are investing resources to give American Indian voters a greater say.
Croover has a solid resume. She’s a Ho-Chunk tribal member who has already worked with Montana tribes and was Sen. Jon Tester’s Native American liaison.
Now let’s put this news in context.
At its core politics is about two things: Policy and mechanics. Policy is the ideas, often the stuff that happens after elections; mechanics is how policy gets made.
Another way to think about the difference: Policy is usually what politicians talk about. Mechanics is the work that’s actually done by people whose names we may never know.
Political parties (both Republicans and Democrats) talk a lot about American Indian and Alaska Native policy. President Nixon’s 1970 message that declared an end to termination and the promotion of self-determination was a policy prescription. But the mechanics was left to Congress, largely, Forrest Gerard working with Sen. Henry Jackson and Franklin Ducheneaux, who was Rep. Morris Udall’s counsel in the House. The idea was not enough. Someone had to do the work.
It’s the same with elections.
This election is the right one to test the mechanical side of democracy in Indian Country because there are so many Native candidates on the ballot. The incentives are aligned in Montana for people to vote for Denise Juneau as well as Native candidates for the legislature.
Other states have seen initiatives to improve the mechanics of the Native vote. Two years ago, for example, Sen. Mark Begich made Alaska Native voters a key element of his unsuccessful bid for re-election. But. The thing is. Begich made the election a lot closer than it would have been had he not made the effort. And, his staff work in the many villages probably helped elect Gov. Bill Walker and Lt. Gov. Byron Mallot. The mechanics paid off.
The most common complaint I hear from Native candidates (especially former candidates who have lost) is that they get no help from their state or national party.
That needs to change because in the years to come Indian Country will need more investment in the mechanical side of politics. As the demographics of the nation shift, there will be more and more states and districts where the Native vote will make the difference. But for that to happen, someone has to do the work.
I am Mark Trahant reporting.
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Trahant Reports is brought to you by Kauffman & Associates, Inc., a Native American owned, woman-owned small business that has delivered innovative solutions for government and commercial clients since 1990. KAI’s expertise spans diverse specialty areas, including public health, education, and economic development.
