Nika Bartoo-Smith
Underscore Native News + ICT
A judge in South Dakota ruled today, Nov. 3, that voters must be allowed to wear nonpartisan Native Vote apparel at the polls. This came after Lonnie Provost, Yankton Sioux Tribe, alleged that he was denied a ballot in 2024 for wearing a shirt that said “Natives Vote.”
Provost argued that his first amendment rights had been violated.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, also said that the Native American Rights Fund found that five to twenty voters filed similar complaints in which poll workers told voters to cover shirts with Native Vote messaging or turn them inside out before voting.
Judge Karen Schreier also instructed officials to communicate the decision with poll workers across Charles Mix County, South Dakota.
“No voter should have to choose between expressing pride in Native electoral participation and casting a ballot,” Samantha Blenche, senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, said in a press release. “Lonnie’s shirt encourages Native people to vote. It supports no candidate, political party, or ballot measure. He should be able to wear it while exercising his right to vote.”
After the ruling came, Provost voted, wearing his “Natives Vote” shirt.
