S moke S ignals
SEPTEMBER 1, 2017
23
'I am still not sure what happened to the ballots'
ELECTION continued
from front page
Mike Portwood, who is a member
of the Chief Tumulth family, said
his two daughters did not receive
their original ballots mailed by
Automated Election Services of
New Mexico. He received his Tribal
ballot in the regular mail in early
August, he added.
Portwood said he worked with
Election Board member Dan Stro-
ebel to get everything fixed and
his daughters received their re-
placement ballots via an overnight
mailer on Aug. 23.
“I am still not sure what hap-
pened to the ballots,” Portwood
said. “We didn’t move. We’re at the
same address we have been at for
the last 14 years.”
Debi Anderson, who is also a
member of the Chief Tumulth fami-
ly, said the last five missing ballots
for her family were delivered by
Friday, Aug. 25.
“Some family had to call the Elec-
tion Office three times to receive
a ballot, and we hope these types
of issues will be resolved in the
future,” she said.
“It was certainly problematic as
first, but I do think that we have all
of our family handled now,” Wilkin-
son said. “The lack of a centralized
Election Board Chair Deanna Johnston said
the biggest problem she sees is Tribal
members who have moved, but failed to
notify Member Services of their new address.
database sure seems to be the root
of the problems.”
Election Board Chair Deanna
Johnston said the biggest problem
she sees is Tribal members who
have moved, but failed to notify
Member Services of their new
address. The Election Board, like
Smoke Signals, downloads Tribal
member addresses from Member
Services’ database.
On Monday, Aug. 28, approxi-
mately 60 returned ballots were
sitting on Johnston’s desk in the
Election Board office located in the
Community Center.
“We always tell people that if
their information has changed in
the last six months to let us know,”
Johnston said.
Johnston said Election Board
members with the assistance of
Tribal Attorney’s Office staff have
been proactive in trying to resolve
any issues regarding missing bal-
lots.
Registered Tribal voters who
have not yet received a ballot
should contact the Election Office
at 503-879-2271 before Thursday,
Aug. 31. After Tuesday, Sept. 5,
there is not sufficient time to over-
night a ballot and get it returned
in time, so Johnston suggests that
Tribal members walk in from 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and re-
ceive and cast a ballot at the Tribal
Community Center, 9615 Grand
Ronde Road.
She also cautioned that Tribal
voters who are going to place their
ballots in the mail collection boxes
at the Grand Ronde Post Office
do so by Friday, Sept. 8. Ballots
dropped off on Saturday morning
may not be delivered in time to the
Election Board to be counted.
In addition to voting for three
Tribal Council candidates, Tribal
voters are being asked to weigh in
on three advisory votes with a com-
bined seven questions. A “yes” vote
means the voter is recommending
Tribal Council consider the specific
topic or action.
The first advisory question, which
is yes or no, asks if the Tribe should
consider investing in Elder mar-
ket-rate units in Tribal housing.
The second question asks if the
Tribe should consider investing in
the cannabis industry and gives
voters three options: medical mar-
ijuana, recreational marijuana or
hemp?
The final advisory vote asks if
constitutional enrollment require-
ments should be amended to do a
possible three things:
• Remove the requirement that the
applicant be born to a parent who
was a Tribal member at the time
of the applicant’s birth?
• Remove the requirement that the
applicant be born to a parent who
was a Tribal member at the time
the application is filed, if still
living?
• Or replace the requirement that
an applicant have 1/16th Grand
Ronde blood as defined as all
Indian blood derived from an
ancestor on the Restoration Roll
with the pre-1999 amendment re-
quirement that an applicant have
1/16th Indian blood and descend
from a member of the Tribe?
Winners will be announced after
ballots are counted on Saturday,
Sept. 9.
David Lewis for Tribal Council
Independent Experienced Straight-Forward
Stronger Together
dgl.coyotez@gmail.com
Facebook.com/DavidLewis4TC
I am honored to be endorsed by:
Cheryle Kennedy #1
Deborah Cuthbert #459
Margaret Provost #645
Joseph Brisbois # 871
Brenda Tuomi #1438
Adrianne Llaneza #1715
Shelley Hanson Sneed #1779
Janet Carpenter #1975
Valerie Alexander #2274
Monty Parazoo #2620
Be�y Bly #3544
Be�y Reed #302
Karen McCutcheon #461
Kathy Tom #817
Angie Blackwell #1089
Terri Warren #1445
Marcella Selwyn #1721
Denise Harvey #1874
Lewis Younger #2084
Sequoia Raya #2313
Tracie Meyer #2776
Ann Lewis #3983
Evelyn Seidel #308
Larry Lewis #462
Chips Tom #818
Julie Brown #1327
Jon George #1631
Terry Boerckel #1751
Andy Jenness #1936
Kathleen George #2093
Deneise Bill #2448
Debi Anderson #3264
Russell Wilkinson #4099
Leadership is a sacred responsiblity, granted by the community
David G. Lewis
Santiam, Takelma, Chinook
This Land is Our Heart
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