The Cherokee Nation Election Commission held a special meeting on Aug. 30, and due to pending lawsuits, it’s still undetermined whether Cherokee Freedmen will be eligible to vote in the Sept. 24 principal chief election.
CN Attorney General Diane Hammons was in attendance at the meeting, and she said a hearing in the Freedmen matter is slated for Sept. 20 in federal court. The filing period for the plaintiffs of the Freedmen lawsuit is Sept. 2, and the CN has 10 days to respond and five days for a reply, Hammons said.
Cherokee Freedman William Austin of Muskogee attended the EC meeting and asked how he and other Freedmen would be notified whether they will be allowed to vote or not. “When you get your ballot, if you get one,” EC attorney Lloyd Cole replied.
CN attorneys do not expect the plaintiffs to file until Sept. 2, but everything the Freedmen attorneys say revolves around filing something to do with the election, Hammons added.
Hembree addressed Austin and said that his and the other Freedmen’s questions would be answered in court.
“… We can’t answer all your questions here today,” Hembree said. “These are questions that are going to be asked and answered by people with black robes on and these individuals (the EC) don’t have black robes.”
Full Article: Election Commission discusses Freedmen decision.