Judge finds San Juan County not in contempt; primary held
Ballots are recounted in the conference room of the Election Administration Office on Thursday. The recount was prompted by the Shirley administration. (Times photo-Stacy Thacker)
WINDOW ROCK
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to reopen the Navajo Nation’s voting rights lawsuit against San Juan County, Utah, saying he felt the county was making a reasonable effort to comply with court-ordered redistricting.
The Nation had argued the county had interfered with the election by sending Navajo voters the wrong ballots. The county’s attorneys responded that any mistakes had been inadvertent, citing the fact that most Navajos in the area don’t have street addresses and their Post Office boxes are often across the state line.
U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby, who had previously ruled in favor of the Nation in the six-year-old lawsuit and last December ordered the county to redraw its election district boundaries to ensure Navajos were fully represented on the school board and county commission, took an abrupt turn toward the county in his Tuesday decision at the U.S. district courthouse in Salt Lake City.
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