Tribal Council vote Saturday

FLATHEAD RESERVATION — Voters around the reservation will have a chance to cast their votes for several Tribal Council seats during the general election this Saturday, Dec. 12. Polls will stay open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

No registration is required, but a press release from the Election Board of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes said all tribal members “over the age of 18 years shall have the right to vote in all Tribal Elections provided they have physically resided for at least one year on the Flathead Reservation next preceding the General Election.”

A planned Tribal Council Candidate forum for last Friday, Dec. 4 was canceled after several deaths in the community.

Non-candidate districts include Dixon, Hot Springs and Pablo. Tribal members in these areas may still vote; their polling sites are listed below. The following is a listing of the candidates in each district.

In St. Ignatius, incumbent Joe Durglo faces off against Patty Stevens. Durglo received 536 votes during the primary, while Stevens trailed with 452. Polling site is the St. Ignatius Indian Senior Citizen Center.

In Ronan, incumbent Carole Depoe Lankford and Gene Sorrell are the final two candidates. Lankford led the Ronan primary with 758 total votes, while Sorrell received 435. Polling site is the Ronan Indian Senior Citizen Center.

Polson sees incumbent Steve Lozar square off against Naida R. Lefthand. Lozar garnered 969 votes during the primary, while Lefthand had 331. Polling site is the Polson Indian Senior Citizen Center.

In Elmo, incumbent Reuben Mathias defends his seat against William “Willie” Burke. Mathias had 622 primary votes, while Burke had 365. Polling will be at the Elmo Community Center.

Arlee’s seat comes down to incumbent Jim Malatare against James “Bing” Matt. Malatare received 501 primary votes while Matt had 273. Polling will be held at the Arlee Indian Senior Citizen Center.

Polling sites for non-candidate districts include the Tribal Complex in Pablo, the Hot Springs Indian Senior Citizen Center in Hot Springs and the Dixon Senior Citizen Center in Dixon.

Eligible voters that will not be able to vote at their polling center on election day may send in a written request for an absentee ballot or visit the Office of the Tribal Election Board prior to election day.