Repeated flooding this fall washed out roads and forced thousands of people from their homes across the Navajo Reservation, which spans parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Despite the damage, residents made difficult journeys to vote, with some traveling for hours to reach polling places.
In Dennehotso, voters arrived at the Chapterhouse in trucks caked with mud. A backhoe was building a temporary road for residents cut off from town, while volunteers and Chapterhouse employees shuttled others to the polls. Some people used tractors to get between sections of road.
The area had experienced three floods in the month leading up to election day. The most severe began on October 22, when heavy rain overwhelmed earthen dams and floodwaters damaged homes and newly built roads, knocked out power and water, and left parts of town covered in mud.
Resident Phyllis Yazzie recalled fleeing with her son as water rose around their home. They spent the night in their car on higher ground. Local contractor Kev Woolboy, who was helping the Navajo Police Department with rescue efforts, said floodwaters and silt made it impossible to distinguish the ground from the water in the dark. Rescuers could not reach Yazzie’s home that night because the road had disappeared.
Voting also mattered to residents recovering from the disaster. Vera Begay brought her 92-year-old mother, Lilien, who had lost her home and identification documents. Vera said her mother had never missed an election.
At the polling site, people shared food and spent time together. Urbina Yazzie, 27, said the effort to vote was especially important amid the flooding and other challenges facing the Navajo Nation. Residents who may differ politically laughed and cried together as the community worked to recover.
Sources: NPR Politics.