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Utah Election Official Going County In Navajo Voting Suits

San Juan County
act.betterutah.org
San Juan County

The state of Utah will send an election official to a county dogged by allegations of discrimination against Navajo voters.

Elections Director Justin Lee said Tuesday it's a major step to ensure everything goes smoothly in the politically charged situation in San Juan County, which borders Arizona and New Mexico and overlaps with the Navajo Nation.

The county has redrawn its voting districts after a federal judge found they were illegally drawn based on race and been ordered to put a Navajo candidate back on the ballot after a judge found he was wrongly disqualified.

San Juan County officials have pushed back against the new voting districts and said the county clerk was mistaken in his handling of the candidate's disqualification.

The federal election observers also monitored the polls there in 2016.