Principal Chief candidate Jeff Harjo is requesting the entire election be declared invalid.
WEWOKA, Okla. – The results from the Seminole Nation’s July 13 election are in and under appeal.
The challenge comes from outgoing Eufaula Band council member Jeff Harjo, who, with almost a quarter of the votes cast, finished second to incumbent Leonard Harjo in the principal chief’s race. Jeff Harjo is requesting the entire July 13 election be declared invalid due to multiple potential violations of the Seminole Nation’s election code.
“I just feel that the voters of the Seminole Nation did not have a fair and honest election,” the Shawnee resident said. “It’s not because I didn’t make the run-off. I feel that something was definitely wrong with this election.”
Among the alleged violations are questions of ballot security. In addition to not having a Seminole Nation lighthorse officer at the Tulsa or Oklahoma City precincts when the polls closed, according to Harjo’s complaint, the ballot box at a third polling place was unlocked and opened during voting hours because the voting machine jammed.
Under section 409 of the Seminole Nation election code, ballot boxes are not to be unlocked or removed from a polling place at any time before voting ends. The same section also calls for a lighthorse officer to move the ballot box to a designated central location as soon as the polling place closes.
According to Harjo’s filing, a police officer was not dispatched from the Mekusukey Mission near Seminole to the Tulsa precinct until 15 minutes after the polls closed. The polling place, located in southern Tulsa County, was more than 85 miles away.
Additionally, there are questions of whether three referenda should have been voted on alongside the open offices.
Earlier this year, the Seminole Nation General Council approved three proposed Constitutional amendments to go before voters.
Question No. 1 would change the names of two of the tribe’s bands – Hvteyievlke and Bruner – to Hvteyicvlke and Caesar Bruner.
Question No. 2 dealt with the jurisdiction of the tribe’s judiciary and gives it authority over all cases other than criminal within its service area in which at least one party involved is a Seminole Nation citizen. Previously, non-citizens were only subject to the tribe’s judicial authority if they volunteered.
Question No. 3 would allow the Seminole Nation General Council to establish, levy and collect taxes within the tribe’s jurisdictional area in central Oklahoma.
Each ballot question passed with more than 60 percent of the votes cast.
According to the published minutes from the March 2 council meeting, the three ballot questions were approved to go before voters in a “special referendum election” in July. Under the tribe’s election code, the legislature must schedule the special election and specifically include provisions in writing if open voting, or voting at a precinct other than the one specified on a voter identification card, is to be allowed. The adopted resolutions make no reference to a specific election date or open voting, despite the practice being allowed in the July 13 election. The ballots used on July 13 do not specify whether they are for a special or a general election.
“We should have had two separate elections,” Harjo said. “One for the offices and one just for the referenda.”
On Friday, Harjo confirmed that he plans to file an additional complaint with the Seminole Nation Election Appeals Board. Reports of additional candidates filing election appeals could not be independently verified.
Seminole election board chairman Glenn Davis did not return calls seeking comment.
As per the tribe’s election code, the Seminole Nation Election Board has 10 days to file its response with the appeals board. Once the appeals board receives the response, it has an additional 10 days to schedule a hearing on the matter.
Pending the appeal’s outcome, the official results as posted on Wednesday call for a run-off on Aug. 10 in the assistant chief’s race between Lewis Johnson of Wewoka and Thomas Yahola of Konawa. The tribe’s election code only calls for a run-off in the executive branch offices if no one candidate earns a majority of the votes cast or if there is a tie between two tribal council candidates.
As per the public notice published on the Seminole Nation’s website, the five polling places used for primary election will also be used for the run-off. Absentee ballot requests for the run-off must be returned to the Seminole Nation Election Board by the close of business on July 22. Run-off absentee ballots will automatically be sent to voters who submitted an on-time request for one in the primary election. Unlike the primary election, voters must cast their ballots at their assigned precinct. Polling places include the Sasakwa Community Center in Sasakwa; the Mekusukey Mission’s North Community Building near Seminole; the Strother Community Building in Strother; Glorietta Baptist Church in Oklahoma City and Haikey Chapel in Tulsa.
In addition to the three referenda and two executive branch offices, each of the tribe’s 14 bands had a General Council seat on the July 13 ballot. Incumbents Anthony Conley, Rosanna Jones, David Narcomey, Karen Fullbright, Marilyn Moore, Abraham Farani, Jerilyn Fixico, Ralph Coker and Dewayne Miller were all re-elected to the tribe’s legislature. Newly elected council members include Kent Dindy, Nancy Fixico, Sterling Springer, Sena Yesslith and Wayne Shaw.
Seminole Primary Results:
Principal Chief
Leonard Harjo (i): 55.97 percent
Jeff Harjo: 24.77 percent
Joseph Billie: 11.82 percent
Thomas McGeisey, Jr.: 7.44 percent
Assistant Chief
*Lewis Johnson: 41.78 percent
*Thomas Yahola: 21.72 percent
Kelly Tiger, Jr.: 12.31 percent
Rosa Mae Smith: 11.38 percent
George Violette: 6.72 percent
Franklin McGeisey: 6.1 percent
Bruner Band council member
Anthony Conley (i): 52 percent
LeEtta Osborne: 48 percent
Ceyvha Band council member
Rosanna Jones (i): 52.46 percent
John Narcomey: 47.54 percent
Dosar Barkus Band council member
Kent Dindy: 52.5 percent
Kevin Hardeman: 47.5 percent
Eufaula Band council member
Nancy Fixico: 41.66 percent
Ida Gonzalez (i): 33.33 percent
Emma Wesley: 25 percent
Fushuchte Band council member
David Narcomey (i): 40.47 percent
Kelly Davis: 33.33 percent
Timothy Hooper: 26.19 percent
Hecete Band council member
Sterling Springer: 42.48 percent
Patricia Kishekton: 33.63 percent
Shyla Earp (i): 23.89 percent
Hvteyievlke Band council member
Karen Fullbright (i): 43.43 percent
Jimpsey Factor: 29.29 percent
Nanette Hazelwood: 27.27 percent
Mekusukey Band council member
Sena Yesslith: 30.99 percent
Jennifer Horne: 27.46 percent
Eula Doonkeen (i): 22.53 percent
Rhonda Fixico: 19.01 percent
Nurcup Harjo Band council member
Marilyn Moore (i): 51.43 percent
Richard McCulley: 48.57 percent
Ocese Band council member
Abraham Farani (i): 29.77 percent
Dianna Autaubo: 21.76 percent
Cora Osborne: 19.47 percent
Alene Miller: 14.89 percent
Harry Walker: 14.12 percent
Rewalke Band council member
Wayne Shaw: 36.76 percent
Nancy Harjo (i): 29.41 percent
Natalie Harjo: 25 percent
Jonah Harjo (i): 13.95 percent
Tallahassee Band council member
Jerilyn Fixico (i): 42.61 percent
Charlie Hill: 32.39 percent
Cynthia Hudson: 25 percent
Thomas Palmer Band council member
Dewayne Miller (i): 39.66 percent
Fannie Harjo: 36.21 percent
Tiffany Ahgoom: 24.13 percent
Tusekia Harjo Band council member
Ralph Coker (i): 37.18 percent
Cheri Hardeman: 35.9 percent
Jane Northcott: 13.68 percent
Rosetta Coley: 13.25 percent
Referendum No. 1 – General council band names
Yes: 79.21 percent
No: 20.79 percent
Referendum No. 2 – Judicial jurisdiction
Yes: 76.21
No: 23.79
Referendum No. 3 – Taxation authority
Yes: 63.67
No: 36.33
* Run-off election