Reform to Kiowa tribal citizenship guidelines fails due to low turnout

Low voter turnout in a Kiowa Tribe special election did not meet the threshold to consider several constitutional amendments, including one that sought to reform enrollment guidelines to expand citizenship.

According to KOSU, out of 9,377 eligible voters, only 15% voted in the special election on Oct. 17, which is half of the 30% voter turnout tribal law requires to amend Kiowa’s constitution. Tribal voters even had the opportunity to lower this requirement during the special election. Voters were also asked to amend the constitution to make any current Kiowa citizen a full-blooded Kiowa, an attempt to increase enrollment in the tribe. Both measures had substantial support but failed due to the low turnout.

Kiowa Indian Council Coordinator Joseph Granado blamed the tribe’s primary source of information, Facebook. Granado told KOSU that the tribe’s election notices didn’t reach voters, and instead were flooded under Meta’s algorithm.

“Just like with state and national elections, it's hard to get turnout to meet those requirements,” Granado said. “That's the issue we're facing is that voter turnout amount.”