OPM Bolsters Federal Employees Voting, Administration Seeks Same for Native Communities
McKenzie Lange | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
New Biden Administration guidance indicates that voting is now more than just an election day event. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced last week that federal employees may take up to four hours of administrative leave to vote in federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial elections. Employees who wish to serve as non-partisan poll workers and election observers can combine this time with other leave.
In March 2021, President Biden issued an executive order (E.O. 14019) to expand access to voting, which required OPM to create more flexible conditions for federal employees to vote as well as to boost early voting. In the past, OPM guidance entitled federal workers to administrative leave to vote on election day, with poll work limited to excused absences.
“OPM is proud to help lead this effort," stated OPM Director Kiran Ahuja, "To promote democracy, reduce barriers to voting for federal employees, and further position the federal government as a model employer for other employers to follow."
Director Ahuja also noted the rise in private companies offering employees time off to vote in recent years—an observation that resonated with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
“One of the most effective ways to strengthen our democracy is by ensuring more Americans have the opportunity to participate and make their voice heard,” stated AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a press release, “Instructing agencies to provide leave for voting will not only directly help more Americans play a part in our democracy, it will once again showcase the power of the federal government as a model employer.”
To further the Biden Administration’s focus on expanding voting opportunities, the White House released a report describing the challenges indigenous voters face in the electoral process. The Interagency Steering Group on Native American Voting Rights, also established by E.O. 14019, also recommended that federal agencies and lawmakers remove consistent barriers to voting for Native communities.
Samantha Kelty, an attorney for the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), stated that these barriers include disproportionate voter registration laws and substandard postal service on reservations which make voting by mail difficult. NARF defines these issues as the tyranny of distance, a phenomenon that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
"For far too long, members of Tribal Nations and Native communities have faced unnecessary burdens when they attempt to exercise their sacred right to vote. Native voters often have to overcome language barriers, a lack of accessibility for voters with disabilities, cultural disrespect and outright hostility, geographically remote residences, and persistent poverty—conditions that have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," stated Vice President Kamala Harris at a White House press briefing.
In its top recommendation, the Biden Administration called on Congress to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4), which entails the Native American Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
Many of the recommendations pertain to the U.S. Postal Service, including assigning addressees to homes on tribal lands; determining if retail post offices on tribal lands are suitable as satellite polling locations; and evaluating whether additional routes, offices, staff hours or personnel are necessary in tribal areas. The Steering Group encouraged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work with Tribal governments to extend broadband services and asked the Justice Department to ensure that Tribal leaders have reliable ways to report any concerns.
Interior Department officials announced that they will work with states to formally designate two Department-operated post-secondary Tribal institutions in Kansas and New Mexico as registrar bureaus to facilitate voter access for enrolled students and members of the community.
“Tribal nations have played a significant role in influencing the contours of American democracy, yet systemic barriers continue to disenfranchise Indigenous people and impede a free and fair electoral process,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, “The Interior Department is committed to defending the right to vote, which includes increasing access to voter registration and engaging young people in our democratic system.”
To make the White House report more accessible, the Interior Department is translating the Steering Group’s report into six different native languages: Navajo, Yup'ik, Ojibwe, Cherokee, Lakota and Native Hawaiian.
