During a special called meeting [Sept. 29], the Cherokee Tribal Council passed an update to the tribe’s election ordinance that gets rid of term limits for executive offices and makes absentee voting available to all tribal members, regardless of residence or employment. Proponents of the revised ordinance say this could help level the playing field at election season, as the current system disenfranchises tribal members who live away from the Qualla Boundary. Not everybody agreed with that point of view, with some concerned the change could be “detrimental” to the tribe’s political system. The ordinance itself passed unanimously, and Principal Chief Richard Sneed has signed it into law.
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