2021 Cherokee Nation tribal council elections

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2021 Cherokee Nation tribal council elections
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July 24, 2021 (runoff)		 2023  →
9 of the 17 seats in the Tribal Council

The 2021 Cherokee Nation tribal council elections took place on July 5, 2021, and July 24, 2021. [1] [2] The Cherokee Nation's Tribal Council is made up of seventeen tribal councilors elected from the fifteen districts within the reservation boundaries and two at-large seats.

Contents

In 2021, elections were held for districts 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, and for one of the at-large seats. [3]

The 2021 Cherokee Nation elections were the first Cherokee Nation elections to have their official results posted online, with results posted on election.cherokee.org. Prior to 2021, results would be posted on the window of the election commission building for public viewing. Social distancing and mask wearing were required at polling places as well due to an executive order issued by Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. [1]

Retiring

Term limited

Retiring

General election

Nine of the seventeen seats on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council had elections in 2021. In order to win a seat on the Tribal Council, a candidate must receive 50% plus one vote. If no candidate receives 50% plus one vote, then a runoff election is held between the two top vote earning candidates. [6]

Incumbent tribal councilors Mike Dobbins, E.O. Smith, Mike Shambaugh, and Victoria Vazquez won their seats outright in the general election. [7] Danny Callison, a retired teacher, defeated former tribal councilor Meredith Frailey in District 15. [5]

Districts 2, 7, 10, and the at-large seat all proceeded to runoff elections. [7]

The voter turnout for the June 5th general election was 8,940 out of 55,597, or 16.08%. [8]

District 2

Incumbent tribal councilor Joe Byrd was term limited. [4]

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 2 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Candace Teehee 219 32.21%
Nonpartisan Bobby Slover 200 29.41%
Nonpartisan Dusty Fore11216.47%
Nonpartisan Jami Murphy11116.32%
Nonpartisan Claude Stover314.56%
Nonpartisan Tonya Teaney60.88%
Nonpartisan Vicki Creel10.15%
Total votes680 100.0%

District 4

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 4 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Mike Dobbins 505 86.62%
Nonpartisan Sarah Cowett7813.38%
Total votes583 100.0%

District 5

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 5 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan E.O. Smith 586 81.62%
Nonpartisan RL Bell9813.65%
Nonpartisan Richard W. Tyler344.74%
Total votes718 100.0%

District 7

Incumbent tribal councilor Canaan Duncan did not file for re-election. [4]

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 7 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Joshua Sam 497 49.31%
Nonpartisan David Comingdeer 450 44.64%
Nonpartisan Gena Kirk616.05%
Total votes1,008 100.0%

District 9

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 9 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Mike Shambaugh 575 59.16%
Nonpartisan Lawrence Panther24925.62%
Nonpartisan Joyce Nix McCarter14815.23%
Total votes972 100.0%

District 10

Incumbent tribal councilor Harley Buzzard was term limited [4]

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 10 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Shaunda Handle-Davis 302 35.87%
Nonpartisan Melvina Shotpouch 294 34.92%
Nonpartisan John Ann Masters Thompson21425.42%
Nonpartisan Darrel Hicks131.54%
Nonpartisan Cody Williams131.54%
Nonpartisan Dennis Ackley60.71%
Total votes842 100.0%

District 11

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 11 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Victoria Vazquez 486 62.95%
Nonpartisan Mike Purcell23630.57%
Nonpartisan Randy Junior White496.35%
Nonpartisan Mason Hudson10.13%
Total votes772 100.0%

District 15

Incumbent tribal councilor Janees Taylor was term limited after serving two consecutive terms on the Tribal Council. [5]

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election District 15 [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Danny Callison 484 59.83%
Nonpartisan Meredith Frailey 32540.17%
Total votes809 100.0%

At-Large District

Incumbent Mary Baker Shaw did not run for re-election. [4]

Candidates

Election results

2021 Cherokee Nation general election At-Large District [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Johnny Jack Kidwell 1,012 39.78%
Nonpartisan Kyle Haskins 688 27.04%
Nonpartisan Marilyn Vann56922.37%
Nonpartisan Mary-Charlotte Grayson1505.9%
Nonpartisan Matthew Benjamin Scrapper752.95%
Nonpartisan Robin Mayes371.45%
Nonpartisan Shawna Johnson70.28%
Nonpartisan Wallace Ryan Craig60.24%
Total votes2,544 100.0%

Runoff Election

Districts 2, 7, 10, and the at-large seat all had runoff elections. [4]

Current results are unofficial numbers released by the Cherokee Nation. [15]

District 2

Bobby Slover and Candessa Tehee advanced to the runoff election for District 2. [16]

On July 25, Candess Teehee, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was reported as the unofficial winner of the District 2 by seven votes by the Cherokee Phoenix. However, eighteen ballots had been challenged and a recount was still possible. [17]

Election results

District 2 Tribal Council election runoff, 2021 [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Candessa Tehee 367 50.48%
Nonpartisan Bobby Slover36049.52%
Total votes727 100%

District 7

Joshua Sam and David Coming deer advanced to the runoff election for District 7. [18]

Joshua Sam, of Stilwell, Oklahoma, [18] won the Tribal Council race. [19]

Election results

District 7 Tribal Council election runoff, 2021 [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Joshua Sam 638 51.79%
Nonpartisan David Comingdeer59448.21%
Total votes1,232 100%

District 10

Shaunda Handle-Davis and Melvina Shotpouch advanced to the runoff election for District 10. [20]

Melvina Shotpouch, of Eucha, Oklahoma, won the Tribal Council race. [21]

Election results

District 10 Tribal Council election runoff, 2021 [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Melvina Shotpouch 384 58.63%
Nonpartisan Shaunda Handle-Davis27141.37%
Total votes655 100%

At-Large District

Johnny Jack Kidwell and Kyle Haskins advanced to the runoff election for the at-large district. [22]

Johnny Jack Kidwell, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, won the Tribal Council race. [23]

Election results

At-Large District Tribal Council election runoff, 2021 [15]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Johnny Jack Kidwell 1,525 60.3%
Nonpartisan Kyle Haskins1,00439.7%
Total votes2,529 100%

District 2 election fraud

In May 2021, a campaign volunteer for Bobby Slover in District 2, Lisa Dawn Cookson, was arrested and charged with election fraud for filling out and signing absentee ballot request forms without the consent of voters. Over 90 ballots were effected. [24] [25] Cookson was charged with one count of election fraud and six counts of false personation. Each count of election fraud or false personation carries a penalty of up to three years per count or a maximum fine of $15,000. [25] On July 15, Cookson pleaded not guilty to the charges. [26]

On July 21, 2021, the Cherokee Nation Attorney General's office charged losing candidate Bobby Slover with "unlawfully and knowingly" accepting a $1,000 donation from the corporation Action Floors LLC. Cherokee Nation election law states that donations may only be made by "individual natural persons". [26] On August 2, 2021, the Cherokee Nation Election Commission fined Slover $3,000 and disqualified him from the race. [27]

On February 1, 2021, candidate Robin Mayes filed a legal challenge to disqualify Marilyn Vann from the election on the basis she did not meet the Cherokee "by blood" requirement to hold office in the Cherokee Constitution. Mayes argued that freedmen, the descendants of slaves owned by Cherokee citizens, were ineligible from holding office in the Cherokee Nation. [28] On February 21, 2021, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ruled that the "by blood" language in Cherokee law is void and should be removed in line with Cherokee Nation v. Nash. Vann remained on the ballot. [29]

On June 14, 2021, candidate Robin Mayes filed a legal challenge to the June 5th election and requested a new election. Mayes argued that the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court's striking of "by blood" requirements for office should "void" the election. The complaint was dismissed by the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court and described as a "frivolous action". [30]

On August 3, 2021, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court rejected petitions for recounts of the run-off elections in districts 2 and 7. [31] [32]

On August 8, 2021, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court rejected a complaint alleging voter fraud in District 7 as "frivolous and dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." [33]

Related Research Articles

Joe Byrd was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1995 to 1999. Byrd is bilingual, with an ability to communicate in both Cherokee and English. He ran for re-election in 1999, but lost to Chad "Corntassel" Smith. He ran again in 2003, but again lost to the incumbent Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Hoskin Jr.</span> Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wes Nofire</span> Cherokee politician

John Wesley "Wes" Nofire is a Cherokee Nation and American politician and a former heavyweight professional boxer who has served as the Oklahoma Native American Affairs Liaison since 2023. During his boxing career Nofire fought under the name "The Cherokee Warrior". Nofire served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council between 2019 and 2023. He was a Republican candidate in the 2022 primary election for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district and candidate in the 2023 Cherokee Nation principal chief election.

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Cara Cowan Watts is a Cherokee Nation politician. She served on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council from 2003 to 2015 and was a candidate for Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation in the 2023 Cherokee Nation principal chief election.

The 2023 Cherokee Nation tribal council elections took place concurrently with the 2023 Cherokee Nation principal chief election and 2023 Cherokee Nation deputy chief election on June 3, 2023, with runoff elections, where necessary, held on July 8, 2023. The Cherokee Nation's Tribal Council is made up of seventeen Tribal Councilors elected from the fifteen districts within the reservation boundaries and two at-large seats.

Joseph Tali Byrd is a Cherokee Nation and Quapaw Nation politician who served as the Quapaw Nation Chairman from 2020 until his resignation in 2023.

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David Walkingstick is a Cherokee Nation politician who served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council between 2011 and 2019.

Meredith Frailey is a Cherokee Nation politician who served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council from 2003 to 2013.

Rex Jordan is a Cherokee Nation politician who served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council between 2015 and 2023.

Keith Austin is a Cherokee Nation and American politician who served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council representing the 14th District between 2015 and 2023.

Daryl Legg is a Cherokee Nation politician who has served as the member of the Cherokee Nation tribal council for the 6th district since 2019.

Dora Patzkowski is a Cherokee Nation politician who has served as the Cherokee Nation tribal councilor for the 12th district since 2019.

Joe Deere is a Cherokee Nation politician who has served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council representing the 13th district since 2019.

Julia Coates is a Cherokee Nation politician serving as one of the two at-large Cherokee Nation tribal councilors since 2019. She was one of the first elected at-large tribal councilors in 2007 and served until term limited in 2015.

Mike Shambaugh is an American and Cherokee Nation politician, baseball player, and police officer who has served on the Cherokee Nation tribal councilor representing the 9th district since 2017 and as speaker of the Cherokee Nation tribal council since 2021.

Candessa Tehee is a Cherokee Nation artist, professor, and politician who has served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council since 2021. She was named a Cherokee National Treasure in 2019.

Melvina Shotpouch is a Cherokee Nation politician who has served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council since 2021. She served three prior terms on the council from 1991 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2007.

Sasha Blackfox-Qualls is a Cherokee Nation politician who has served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council since 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 Hunter, Chad (May 20, 2021). "Election night results will be online for first time". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  2. ↑ Staff Reports (July 19, 2021). "Cherokee Nation runoff election set for July 24". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  3. ↑ Hunter, Chad (June 4, 2021). "EC preps for Election Day voting". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Hunter, Chad (July 30, 2021). "Runoffs decide last 4 Tribal Council seats". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Bark, Lindsey (July 30, 2021). "Callison wins Dist. 15 Tribal Council seat". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  6. ↑ Staff Reports (July 5, 2021). "Click here for Cherokee Nation election results". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Tomlinson, Joe (June 6, 2021). "Cherokee Nation Tribal Council election results: 41-year educator beats former speaker". NonDoc. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  8. ↑ Hunter, Chad (June 11, 2021). "Ballot order set for Cherokee Nation runoff races". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "2021 General Election". elections.cherokee.org. Cherokee Nation. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Cherokee Nation General Election Official Results" (PDF). election.cherokee.org. Cherokee Nation. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  11. 1 2 Bark, Lindsey (July 30, 2021). "Dobbins maintains Dist. 4 Tribal Council seat" . Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 Rowley, D. Sean (July 30, 2021). "Smith handily wins re-election to Dist. 5 seat". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 Hunter, Chad (July 30, 2021). "Shambaugh retains Dist. 9 seat for 2nd term". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Rowley, D. Sean (July 30, 2021). "Vazquez retains Dist. 11 post with 63% of vote". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cherokee Nation General Election Runoff Unofficial Results" (PDF). election.cherokee.org. Cherokee Nation. July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  16. ↑ Rowley, D. Sean (June 6, 2021). "Dist. 2 headed to runoff between Slover, Tehee". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  17. ↑ Rowley, D. Sean (July 25, 2021). "Tehee named unofficial winner of Dist. 2 by 7 votes". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  18. 1 2 Bark, Lindsey (June 6, 2021). "Sam, Comingdeer head to runoff for Dist. 7 seat". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  19. ↑ Hunter, Chad (July 25, 2021). "Sam secures Dist. 7 seat in runoff race" . Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  20. ↑ Hunter, Chad (June 6, 2021). "Handle-Davis, Shotpouch top Dist. 10 race". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  21. ↑ Bark, Lindsey (July 24, 2021). "Shotpouch returns to serve as Dist. 10 Tribal Councilor". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  22. ↑ Hunter, Chad (June 6, 2021). "Kidwell, Haskins headed for At-Large showdown". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  23. ↑ Bark, Lindsey (June 24, 2021). "Kidwell wins runoff for At-Large Tribal Council seat". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  24. ↑ Hunter, Chad (May 6, 2021). "Tribe charges Tahlequah woman with election fraud". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  25. 1 2 Hunter, Chad (July 16, 2021). "Tahlequah woman pleads not guilty to election crimes". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  26. 1 2 Hunter, Chad (July 29, 2021). "UPDATE: Dist. 2 Tribal Council candidate charged with accepting illegal contribution". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  27. ↑ Hunter, Chad (August 4, 2021). "Election Commission tosses, fines Slover for campaign contribution". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  28. ↑ Hunter, Chad (February 2, 2021). "Election complaint filed over Freedmen descendant's eligibility". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  29. ↑ Hunter, Chad (March 30, 2021). "Supreme Court says challenged candidates eligible". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  30. ↑ Hunter, Chad (June 29, 2021). "Candidate's appeal for new election denied". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Supreme-Court-Order-Recount.pdf" (PDF). election.cherokee.org. Cherokee Nation. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  32. ↑ Tomlinson, Joe (August 10, 2021). "Cherokee Nation election concludes with disqualified candidate, failed legal challenge". NonDoc. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  33. ↑ Hunter, Chad (August 11, 2021). "High court dismisses Tribal Council Dist. 7 election appeal". Cherokee Phoenix. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
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