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Utah election official going county in Navajo voting suits

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) In this Nov. 16, 2017, file photo, Louise Rock, from the Oljato chapter of the Navajo Nation speaks at a hearing in Bluff, Utah. Navajos who once worried they'd have to drive hours to cast their ballots in Utah say a new settlement is a step forward as tribes challenge what they call discriminatory voting practices around the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah said Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, the settlement that requires tribal-accessible polling places and Navajo-language help is a victory for voting rights. San Juan County, though, says they're committed to fair elections and took the steps themselves.

By The Associated Press
  | Oct. 3, 2018, 4:41 p.m.
| Updated: 5:34 p.m.

The state of Utah will send an election official to a county dogged by allegations of discrimination against Navajo voters.

Elections Director Justin Lee said Tuesday it's a major step to ensure everything goes smoothly in the politically charged situation in San Juan County, which borders Arizona and New Mexico and overlaps with the Navajo Nation.

The county has redrawn its voting districts after a federal judge found they were illegally drawn based on race and been ordered to put a Navajo candidate back on the ballot after a judge found he was wrongly disqualified.

San Juan County officials have pushed back against the new voting districts and said the county clerk was mistaken in his handling of the candidate’s disqualification.

The federal election observers also monitored the polls there in 2016.

By The Associated Press