Chris Deschene, the former Navajo Nation presidential candidate who underwent a gauntlet of challenges to his presidential candidacy earlier this year before being removed from the ballot, has filed a motion with the Navajo Office of Hearings and Appeals to void the order that disqualified him.

The petition stems from the December removal of Richie Nez as the chief hearing officer of the Office of Hearings and Appeals. Under Navajo law, Nez was supposed to get licenses from the bar associations in either New Mexico, Arizona or Utah, in addition to being licensed in the Navajo Nation Bar Association.

However, Nez did not obtain a license from any of those states. He said at the time he wouldn’t appeal his firing because he knew it was a possibility.

“Mr. Nez had no authority to enter the OHA Orders in this mater, [thus] all such orders are void. Accordingly, the OHA Orders must be vacated and Mr. Deschene restored as a rightful candidate for President of the Navajo Nation,” reads the introduction to the petition filed Monday by Deschene’s attorney, Edward J. Hermes.

Deschene’s removal came on the heels of Nez requiring Deschene to take a language fluency test, something that had not been asked of other candidates. Under Navajo law, presidential candidates must be able to speak and understand the language fluently and be able to write and read English fluently as well.

The postponed presidential election had been originally rescheduled for Dec. 23, but was pushed back to 2015, though no solid date has been set at this point. Joe Shirley Jr. and Russell Begaye are currently set to be the two candidates on the presidential ballot.

The Navajo Nation Council could not garner enough votes Thursday to override President Ben Shelley’s veto of a motion to amend the language requirement for government seats, including president, to give voters the say of which candidates are fluent in the Navajo language.

The council would have needed 16 ‘yea’ votes to override the veto, but got only 13 in favor. Five council members voted against the override, and four did not vote.

The Navajo Nation Council’s Naa’bik’iyati’ Committee passed a resolution Wednesday 12-5 to override the veto, which sent the motion to today’s council special session.

Voting against the override were Joshua Lavar Butler, Kenneth Maryboy, Leonard H. Pete, Alton Joe Shepherd and Dwight Witherspoon.

Lorenzo Bates, Elmer P. Begay, Russell Begaye and Jonathan Nez did not vote.

Roland Tso, who was sworn in as a new member of the council Thursday morning prior to the vote, voted in favor of the override, as did George Apachito, Mel R. Begay, Nelso S. BeGaye, Lorenzo Curley, Charles Damon, Jonathan Hale, Walter Phelps, Danny Simpson, Roscoe D. Smith, Duane Tsinigine, Leonard Tsosie and Edmund Yazzie.

This was effectively former presidential candidate Chris Deschene’s last chance to get on the presidential ballot.

Testimony said more than 8,000 signatures in support of the override had been collected and brought to the council chambers, and that only 200 signatures had been collected opposing the override.

There was also testimony from Former Miss Navajo Karletta Chief that Deschene had spoken more Navajo at debates prior to this year’s primary than several other candidates.

The delayed presidential election is to be held on December 23. Voters will have to choose between Joe Shirley, Jr. and his vice presidential candidate Dineh Benally, and Russell Begaye and his VP candidate, Jonathan Nez.

The Navajo Nation Council’s Naa’bik’iyati’ Committee passed a resolution Wednesday 12-5 to override President Ben Shelley’s veto on changes to the language requirement in the Navajo Nation election code.

The veto must be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the full council.

Russell Begaye and Jonathan Nez will not be able to vote during the council’s vote, as they are currently on the presidential ballot. However, though they will be recused from the council vote, they will be considered voting members and raise the number of votes required for the two-thirds override.

The postponed presidential election has been tentatively rescheduled for Dec. 23.

The council is scheduled to meet in a special session on Thursday and Friday. The veto override measure was placed on the council’s agenda, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Speaker. The spokesperson said the item is first on the agenda. The session is scheduled to start Thursday at 10 a.m.

There are also currently two vacant seats on the council, so paired with the inclusion of Begaye and Nez, the council would have 22 voting members. This means the council will need 15 votes to override the veto during the special session, three more than 12 votes garnered by the committee Wednesday.

The Speaker’s Office spokesperson said the office was unsure how a successful override of the veto would affect the election, and said the issue could go back to court.

The resolution to pass the amendment to the language requirements for office was passed Oct. 24 and vetoed by Shelley Oct. 28.

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court ruled Oct. 31 that presidential candidate Chris Deschene would not be on the original Nov. 4 election ballot and ruled that the Navajo Nation Board of Elections was in contempt of court for not following through with a previous Supreme Court decision to postpone elections and remove Deschene from the ballot.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Leonard Tsosie filed a motion Tuesday evening to override Navajo Nation President Ben Shelley’s veto of the language requirement resolution to the Navajo Nation Election Code. The motion was released to KOB Thursday.

Shelley vetoed the resolution Tuesday after it was passed by the Navajo Nation Council Oct. 23. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote by the Navajo Nation Council.

The motion is now open for a comment period, which will last through Nov. 2. The motion is eligible for action Nov. 3, the day before the scheduled Navajo Nation election.

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court will also live stream the contempt of court hearing Friday that will determine if presidential candidate Chris Deschene, the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors and the Navajo Election Administration should be held in contempt for not adhering to the Supreme Court’s ruling that Deschene be removed from the presidential ballot and the election be postponed.

The live stream for the hearing can be viewed starting at 10 a.m. Friday here.

Dale Tsosie and Hank Whitethorne, the two men petitioning against Deschene’s candidacy, filed that motion Monday.

But the Navajo Nation Election Board Commissioner, Wallace Charley, was adamant that the elections board will not follow those orders.

The Navajo Nation Election Board Commissioner, Wallace Charley, told KOB Tuesday that the board will go to jail before it removes Chris Deschene from the presidential ballot for the upcoming election.

“The Navajo are citizens of the United States; there is a constitution that gives the principle that people have a right to vote, and their votes cannot be denied,” Charley told KOB. “So based on that, the Navajo Board of Elections Supervisors will not back off on this principle. Whether that means going to jail – fine. We’ll go to jail and see what comes out of this.”

The Navajo Nation Election Board passed a motion Monday with an 8-0 vote to continue with the November 4 election, but the motion has asked Navajo Attorney General Harrison Tsosie to give legal opinion on how to comply with the Navajo Supreme Court’s order to postpone elections and remove candidate Chris Deschene from the ballot.

Levon Henry, the Chief Legislative Council for the Navajo Nation, told KOB Monday that the Election Board asked the attorney general for input on how to proceed with the election and language requirement initiatives.

Henry also said that Dale Tsosie and Hank Whitethorne, the two petitioners against Deschene’s candidacy, have filed a show-cause motion asking the court to bring the three men in front of the court to ask why its orders have not been complied with.

The Navajo Times called it an ‘Order of Contempt.’

The attorney general will have to answer several questions in particular relating to the election. First, he will have to determine the legal process for moving a qualified candidate up when another candidate is disqualified.

Russell Begaye, who took third in June’s presidential primary, would be moved onto the ballot if the ruling disqualifying Deschene goes into effect.

Another question Attorney General Tsosie will have to answer is what happens if the election is stopped, since absentee ballots and early voting ballots have already been submitted with Deschene’s name. He will also have to clarify the process of selecting a vice president and certifying them, as that position is not currently up for vote.

Tsosie said that the Navajo Department of Justice represents the Navajo Nation’s judicial branch, legislative branch and executive branch, and said there would be no conflict of interest in sorting out the law and measures.

The Election Board’s decision is based off Navajo people’s continuing support of Deschene, despite him being ruled off the ballot, according to board members. 

ALBUQUERQUE — After the Navajo Nation Council voted 11-10-1 to amend the tribe’s election code’s language requirements early Friday morning to allow voters to determine a candidate’s fluency, the fate of this year’s general election, originally scheduled for Nov. 4, is even more up in the air than it was Thursday.

If signed by the president the measure would apply retroactively, meaning it could still apply to the upcoming election, whenever it should happen.

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly is meeting with lawyers this weekend in Albuquerque, according to Wallace Charlie, with the Navajo Nation Election Commission. Charlie said the commission hopes to have either a veto or signature from Shelly by Monday.

Charlie said the commission has also requested the Navajo Nation Attorney General’s Office give it legal advice on all the matters that have been brought by the commission and Supreme Court this week.

The Election Commission will meet again Monday at 9 a.m., and Charlie said the commission hopes it will have a decision about if the legislation will apply to the upcoming election or not then.

During Friday morning’s proceedings, council members argued that the Navajo law that establishes retroactive decisions cannot be applied in the middle of an election and should not apply, if passed, until the next election.

“I never expected it would rise to this, but it’s a good thing,” Chris Deschene said in an interview with KOB Friday afternoon. “It’s absolutely something that we needed to talk about. You’ll find that this is consistent with a lot of different cultures and their journeys with their respected languages.” 

The Navajo Nation Supreme Court ruled Thursday to remove Chris Deschene from the presidential ballot and postponed the Nov. 4 election indefinitely. Its ruling comes after an appeals court ruled Deschene could not seek the office because he would not demonstrate he knew the Navajo language fluently, something that had been required for most major Navajo posts.

However, the Supreme Court’s decision hinges solely on a procedural misstep by Deschene, as the court said he failed to file his appeal to the court properly.

“I am qualified. I have gone and I have acquired all kinds of experience and knowledge,” Deschene said. “I believe that my nation is in trouble. I want to help, and personally, I believe I have a right to help my people.”

Friday’s ruling on the language requirements means Deschene could still end up on the ballot through a complicated series of steps. He and his campaign will have to navigate through the election commission, the Supreme Court and the tribe’s president if he is to remain on the ballot.

“This legislation does not take the fluency off – it’s still required for the candidates of the Navajo Nation president and vice president,” said Council Delegate Danny Simpson. “This whole legislation is to protect the voting rights of our Navajo people and to let them decide who’s going to be their leader.”

First, Navajo President Ben Shelly will have ten days to approve the council’s ruling on the language requirements.

The Navajo Election Commission is sitting on the Supreme Court’s writ of mandamus that postponed the elections and called for ballots to be re-printed, and has yet to act on any of the Supreme Court’s orders since Friday’s ruling, if signed by Shelly, could effectively block the court’s decision. Requests for comment from the election commission have gone unreturned.

Absentee ballots with Deschene and Joe Shirley Jr., the two candidates who received the most votes in a primary earlier this year, have already been sent to some voters, and some Navajos have already voted.

“They have the right to protect their vote,” Deschene told KOB. “That’s one of the things I’ve been saying.’Honor our Voice,’ and our voice has been casted at the ballot box. They have the right to bring a complaint, a lawsuit, a legal action on their own merits [in order] to protect their own rights.”

According to The Associated Press, an attorney representing a group of Navajos who support Deschene said a general election can be postponed before it begins, but not halted once Navajos have casted ballots. It’s unclear if the Supreme Court’s ruling would overrule this law.

“We respect the process, but I also know that I have some rights and that those are strengthened, especially if the president signs new legislation that changes essentially the fact pattern,” Deschene said.

If the Supreme Court’s ruling is upheld, Russell Begaye, who was third in the primary, would replace Deschene on the presidential ballot.

The council’s ruling Friday morning also would put the decision of whether or not a presidential candidate is fluent in voters’ hands.

According to a release from the council, the amended language says, “Language proficiency shall be determined by the People voting in favor of the person upon the right and freedom of the Diné to choose their leaders.”

Council Delegate Leonard Tsosie argued during the session early Friday morning that the language requirement legislation “was necessary to avoid disenfranchising voters who have already submitted their ballots, particularly those who voted for presidential candidate Chris Deschene.”

“The main thing is just we thank the people’s interest. We know this is important. I know that the best thing is language, and preservation is critical to our people, and that I’ve always been there to advocate for that,” Deschene said.

“I’ve never advocated for the removal of it. I think that the legislation that was passed last night not only protects the language, because it doesn’t remove anything. It protects the voters and incorporates fundamental law, and it defines a standard that says the people have the right to choose their leadership in the election.”

The council is scheduled to continue meetings through Friday. Speaker Pro Tem LoRenzo Bates said in the release following Friday’s decision that the Navajo Nation “understands and respects the many differing views on the language fluency issue,” and asked the public to “remain respectful at this time as the circumstances play out.”

The Navajo Nation Council will discuss legislation proposed earlier this week that would change the laws requiring people who hold office to speak Navajo fluently next week during the Navajo Nation fall council meetings.

The legislation would try and remove language fluency requirements in the Navajo Nation Election Code for the nation’s president, vice president, council delegates, land board members, farm board members and district grazing committee members.

The legislation comes on the heels of a spat between potential Navajo Nation presidential candidates, who have attacked candidate Chris Deschene for not being able to “fluently” speak Navajo.

The Navajo Elections Board of Supervisors ruled 7-1 Monday that Deschene will be allowed on the ballot despite the challenges.

Oct. 21 will be the first day the council will discuss the proposed legislation. If approved, the measure will be sent to the president for authorization. If he doesn’t sign the measure, the council could override his veto.

It is still unclear how the measure would affect this November’s ballot if the measure is not passed, since the elections board already approved Deschene to be on the ballot.

There is also still an outstanding court case filed by several of Deschene’s opponents that could affect whether or not his name is on the ballot if the measure is not passed.

Read the original measure here, and Wednesday’s memo announcing the council’s decision to act on the measure here.