Summary of Public Comments Regarding Proposed Changes to the NHBP Election Code During
Election Board Public Input Sessions
March 7, 2015
On March 7, 2015, the Election Board held two public input sessions to discuss with
NHBP Members, proposed revisions to the current Election Code (“Code”). The first input
session was held at the NHBP Northern Office in Grand Rapids and the second session took
place at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek. The Election Board sent a Proposed
Revised Code to NHBP Membership in February 2015 and the proposed changes to the current
Code were highlighted and discussed with the NHBP Membership present at the input sessions.
Summarized below is a list of all comments that were discussed with and submitted to the
Election Board for consideration. The Election Board will consider each of these comments and
suggestions as it further develops recommendations to the Tribal Council on potential revisions
to the current Code.
General Comments
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References to certain terms should be used in a more consistent manner throughout the
Election Code. For example, sometimes “Tribal Council” is referred to as both “Tribal
Council” and “Council.”
When a number is spelled out, the Election Board should also consider including the actual
number. For example, if the Election Code refers to a four year term, change the language to
state “four (4) year term” as in the current Code.
When the Proposed Revised Code references the term “days,” make sure that it specifies
whether it means calendar or business days.
Clarify the deadlines and processes for Special Elections. Clearly show when Special
Election deadlines and processes are different for General Elections, and order such
provisions in a way that is consistent with the NHBP Constitution’s provisions.
Definitions
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Clarify the definition of “General Election” and that Tribal Council members serve 4 year
terms. The proposed definition of “General Election” is confusing because it makes it seem
like Tribal Council members serve 2 year terms, when instead they serve 4 year terms.
Change the dates specified in the definition of “Preliminary Disclosure Statement” because
they do not match up with the dates stated in Chapter 2 of the Proposed Revised Code.
Move the definition of “Referendum” after “Primary election” in order to make it
alphabetical.
Candidacy Information Packets
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Make candidacy information packets available online and also mail them to NHBP
Membership. Mandating that potential candidates can only pick up the packet in person
seems prohibitive.
Clarify whether the Election Board will provide a standard form for the notarized letter that a
designee must bring to pick up a candidacy information packet on behalf of another.
Based on Proposed Revised Code (February 19, 2015 Revision)
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Tribal Council Candidate Eligibility
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Clarify what types of positions are meant by the phrase “salaried, elected, or appointed” in
Chapter 2, Section 2.2.f. There is concern that for example, if someone is fired from being a
janitor they would not be able to run for Tribal Council.
Change the phrase “salaried, elected, or appointed” in Chapter 2, Section 2.2.f to say
“salaried elected or appointed,” without the commas, which is how it appears in the NHBP
Constitution and changes the meaning to be in line with the intent of the phrase.
Reorder the Tribal Council eligibility requirements in Chapter 2, Section 2.2 so that they
appear in the same order as they are listed in Article IV, Section 4 of the NHBP Constitution.
Campaigning
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Clarify what happens if someone publishes campaign materials that a candidate does not
know about. There is concern that someone might create campaign materials in support of a
candidate, but the candidate may not know about it and therefore, not report it or be able to
control whether the person makes the required endorsement statement in Chapter 2, Section
2.5.8.
If there are instances in which someone sends out campaign materials in support of a
candidate without the candidate’s approval, clarify whether the materials would still be
required to have the statement of endorsement in Chapter 2, Section 2.5.8 listed. How would
the candidate be able to clarify that someone published campaign material, without the
candidate’s permission?
Consider including a new requirement that all campaign materials must include a disclosure
statement stating that the material is not endorsed by the NHBP Government.
If a candidate is unable to attend the “Meet the Candidates Forum,” the Election Code should
state whether and under what conditions the candidate was unable to attend the Forum event.
The Election Board should provide at least a general statement to the NHBP Membership
without violating confidentiality laws.
If a candidate seeks permission to hold a campaign event at a Church, clarify who at the
Church would have to give the approval. For example, would it be permissible for a Pastor
to approve the request or would approval need to come from the Church’s Board.
Campaign Finance
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Once the Election Board collects all Financial Disclosure Statements, will those statements
be published for all NHBP Members to see or would NHBP Members have to request the
information? The concern is that the Election Board would collect the information but
NHBP Members would not have any idea who contributed to candidates’ campaigns.
Consider whether the Code should specifically state that contributions from corporations are
prohibited, or whether it is clear that such contributions are included in the language
regarding the prohibition on contributions from non-members who are not related to the
candidate by blood or marriage.
Based on Proposed Revised Code (February 19, 2015 Revision)
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Election Board
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The Election Board members, not the Tribal Council, should select the Election Board Chair,
Vice-Chair, and Secretary positions.
Listing the Election Board Chair’s responsibilities in Chapter 3, Section 3.2.1 by using the
term “shall” feels too strong. This seems to prohibit the Chair from ever missing a meeting,
even if they must miss due to an illness.
Mandate that all Election Board members and Alternates attend every Election Board
meeting. If something happens to an Election Board member, no one will have to catch up
on what has been going on because they will all have been in the meetings.
Instead of the Tribal Council appointing an Election Board Clerk, the Election Board should
accept applications for the position through a job bank and also be the body that selects
someone for the position.
Having the Tribal Council appoint the Election Board Clerk seems like a conflict of interest.
Describe how the Election Board will respond to requests regarding the permissibility of
campaign activities.
Does the Election Board need to respond to a request for guidance about the permissibility of
campaign activities within 14 calendar or 14 business days? Is 14 days enough time to
respond or too long of a time to respond?
NHBP Council Elections
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Create a nomination system within NHBP Elections. In the NHBP Constitution (Article IV,
Section 4), there is language that specifically refers to “nominees.” However, in the
Proposed Revised Code (Chapter 2, Section 2.2) the language only refers to “candidates.”
There should be a nomination process in line with the NHBP Constitution’s language
regarding nominees.
If the Election Board decides to disqualify a candidate from appearing on the ballot, the
candidate declaration and election process should reopen so that others who want to run for
Tribal Council positions can run in lieu of those who were taken off the ballot.
Absentee Ballots
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Make the deadline to submit a request for an absentee ballot closer to the Election Day. Both
the current Code’s deadline of 85 days and the Proposed Revised Code’s requirement of 5:00
pm on the first full business day of January before the next General Election are too far in
advance of the Election Day.
Instead of having people request absentee ballots, make the absentee ballots available to all
NHBP Members. Everyone should be given an absentee ballot and it should be their choice
whether they want to send it in.
Either in the Code or in the Election policies, the Election Board should put something in
place in order to prevent multiple absentee ballots from being mailed to certain NHBP
Members.
Clarify what the Election Board would have to do in order to prove that it actually mailed out
absentee ballots by 5:00 pm on the first business day in February. For example, would the
ballots need to be stamped and postmarked?
Based on Proposed Revised Code (February 19, 2015 Revision)
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Polling
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With respect to a mail-in only election process, describe who will handle a mail-in ballot
process and address how NHBP Members will know that their ballot was received.
Require the Election Board to hold on to all ballots for a longer period of time. Consider
having the Election Board keep the ballots on file for at least 6 months after the election.
The polling section states that the polling location will be the “NHBP Administration
Building.” Change this to say, “NHBP Government Building,” since it technically is not
called the NHBP Administration Building anymore.
Require the third party vendor who counts the votes to stay until the election results are
announced by the Election Board. This would ensure that their certified results were being
announced by the Election Board correctly.
Prohibited Conduct
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Does the $5,000 fine compare to how other Tribes’ fine individuals for election violations?
Should the imprisonment penalty provision be excluded from the Proposed Revised Code?
Election Disputes
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If a candidate faces an Election Dispute, allow the candidate to stay on the ballot until all
appeals are completed and decided.
The Election Board should not be able to disqualify a candidate. Only the NHBP Courts
should be able to disqualify candidates from running for a Tribal Council position.
Chapter 8, Section 8.1.2 states, “Any eligible voter may register an Election Dispute with the
Election Board within ten days.” Clarify whether an Election Dispute must be filed within
10 calendar days or 10 business days.
The Election Board should provide assistance to NHBP Members on how to obtain an
attorney who can practice in NHBP Courts and is familiar with NHBP laws.
Election Challenges
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Clarify how the Election Board will notify a person who is making an Election Challenge,
that the Election Board has received the Election Challenge.
Vote Counting
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Make it clearer that the ballots will be counted in front of all NHBP Members.
After Plante Moran counts all votes and provides its certification, require Plante Moran to
directly announce the results, rather than having the Election Board announce the results.
Require the Election Board to always use an outside vendor in order to count the votes.
Mandate that the Election Board use a different third party vendor each time there is an
election, instead of using Plante Moran each time.
Have a variety of vendors count ballots. Do not always use Plante Moran so that they do not
become overly familiar with the NHBP voting process.
Based on Proposed Revised Code (February 19, 2015 Revision)
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Recall
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If a person wanted to start a petition for a recall, how would they determine what 20% of the
NHBP Membership is in order to get the required number of signatures for a recall petition?
Clarify whether the NHBP Member should go to the Election Board or the Enrollment office
for the necessary information.
Based on Proposed Revised Code (February 19, 2015 Revision)
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