Ketchikan Indian Community’s special election on Sunday didn’t attract the minimum 30 percent of registered voters required, so the results are not valid.
According to KIC, eight questions on Sunday’s ballot might come before voters again during the tribe’s annual election, scheduled for January 21st.
The ballot questions are the result of about two years of work by the Tribal Council.
Questions arose following the tribe’s 2010 annual election, and KIC eventually had to schedule a second election that year after a 1979 version of the constitution was discovered, and showed that the first election violated that document’s regulations.
After that, the tribe launched a review of its governing document. That ended with the eight propositions, which include changing membership requirements, defining the tribe’s boundaries, prohibiting dual enrollment and removing a cumulative voting rule.
That rule, which was not used until after the 1979 document was found, allows members to stack their votes for a single candidate.
Because Sunday’s election is not valid, KIC will continue to function under the 1979 constitution. According to KIC, a larger turnout had been expected because the election coincided with the tribe’s annual meeting.
