The 2021 Cherokee Nation tribal council elections took place on July 5, 2021, and July 24, 2021. The

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

's Tribal Council is made up of seventeen tribal councilors elected from the fifteen districts within the

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

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

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

seats. The 2021 Cherokee Nation elections were the first

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 An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

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.

Retiring candidates

Term limited * Joe Byrd, District 2 *Harley Buzzard, District 10 *Janees Taylor, District 15 Retiring *Canaan Duncan, District 7 *Mary Baker Shaw, at-large district

Results

Nine of the seventeen seats on the

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 The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

is held between the two top vote earning candidates. Incumbent tribal councilors Mike Dobbins, E.O. Smith, Mike Shambaugh, and

Victoria Vazquez Victoria Vazquez is a Cherokee Nation artist and politician who has served on the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council since October 22, 2013. She was named a Cherokee National Treasure in 2012. Early life and artistic career Victoria Mitchell was bor ...

won their seats outright in the general election. Danny Callison, a retired teacher, defeated former tribal councilor

Meredith Frailey Meredith Frailey is a Cherokee Nation politician who served on the Cherokee Nation tribal council from 2003 to 2013. Education Meredith Frailey graduated from Locust Grove High School and went on to earn her bachelor's degree from Northeastern S ...

in District 15. Districts 2, 7, 10, and the

seat all proceeded to runoff elections. The voter turnout for the June 5th general election was 8,940 out of 55,597, or 16.08%.

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 Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

for filling out and signing

absentee ballot An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online votin ...

request forms without the consent of voters. Over 90 ballots were effected. Cookson was charged with one count of

and six counts of false personation. Each count of

or false personation carries a penalty of up to three years per count or a maximum fine of $15,000. On July 15, Cookson pleaded not guilty to the charges. On July 21, 2021, the

Attorney General's office charged losing candidate Bobby Slover with "unlawfully and knowingly" accepting a $1,000 donation from the corporation Action Floors LLC.

election law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management b ...

states that donations may only be made by "individual natural persons". On August 2, 2021, the Cherokee Nation Election Commission fined Slover $3,000 and disqualified him from the race.

Legal challenges

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

. On February 21, 2021, the

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. 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

Supreme Court's striking of "by blood" requirements for office should "void" the election. The complaint was dismissed by the

Supreme Court and described as a "frivolous action". On August 3, 2021, the

Supreme Court rejected petitions for recounts of the run-off elections in districts 2 and 7. On August 8, 2021, the

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."

References

{{2021 United States elections

21st-century Cherokee history Cherokee Nation elections