Tribe must redo election, judge rules

GROVE, Okla. (AP) – A judge says a tribe in northeastern Oklahoma must redo its election because of questions over how it was handled earlier this month.

A judge with the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Court of Indian Offenses ruled Tuesday that the Seneca-Cayuga Nation must hold a second election for chief, two business committee seats and three grievance committee seats.

The Tulsa World reports (http://bit.ly/28RcvMZ ) that Judge Tom Walker cited a failure to follow procedures outlined in the tribe’s constitution. Walker ruled that the next election should be conducted on July 23 or as close to that date as possible, and it will be subject to oversight by a court-appointed monitor.

Based in Grove, the Seneca-Cayuga Nation has about 5,100 enrolled tribal citizens.