Torey Dolan, Congress' Power to Affirm Indian Citizenship through Legislation
Protecting Native American Voting Rights, 59 Idaho L. Rev. 47 (2023).
Abstract
American Indians' path to citizenship and the franchise has not been
straightforward nor simple. The legacy of this complicated path bears
out today in the myriad of ways that Native Americans lack equitable
access to voting in state and federal elections and otherwise face
barriers to participating in the body politic that non-Indians do not.
Congress has yet to legislate in a manner that protects the right of
Native Americans to vote on reservation or addresses the legal
complexities of administering elections on Tribal lands. By tracing the
history of Indian Citizenship, the role Congress has played in conveying
citizenship to American Indians, this article argues that Congress has
the ability to pass comprehensive legislation protecting the rights of
Native Americans to vote in state and federal elections under its
combined election powers and Indian Affairs powers. This article
further argues that Congress is obligated to do so as part of its trust
responsibility to American Indians.
