GROVE, Okla. – The results of the 2012 Seneca-Cayuga’s tribal election are still being contested - despite a ruling from the Court of Indian Offenses.

On March 25, Appellate Magistrate Tom Walker with the Eastern Oklahoma region’s Court of Indian Offenses overturned a decision from the court’s trial division and ruled that the tribe’s election commission must certify the results from the tribe’s June 2, 2012, election, seat the eight winners and post the vote tallies in accordance with the tribe’s election laws.

The tribe’s June 2012 election results were originally set aside after a challenge was filed over the notarization on a single absentee ballot, submitted by a tribal citizen who was in jail on the date on notarization oath. After verifying the notary had not administered the oath in jail, the election commission chose to review the other seven ballots notarized by the same person and ultimately disallowed all 70 absentee ballots cast, a move overruled in Walker’s decision.

“Had the committee limited its inquiry to that set out by tribal law, only one ballot would have been invalidated,” Walker wrote in his decision. “This one vote would not have changed the outcome of any elections. An effort to challenge all aspects of the entire election is not supported in the record. Thus, the decision was not supported by any reasonable interpretation of the admissible evidence and therefore cannot stand.”

Automated Election Services representative Terry Rainey certified the results March 28 in accordance with the tribe’s election code and the winners were sworn in.

However, at the tribe’s April 2 business committee meeting, Seneca-Cayuga Chief LeRoy Howard refused to recognize the individuals sworn in the week before because the business committee had not scheduled the ceremony.

In a letter to tribal citizens dated March 28, Howard announced that the election is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs due to allegations of voter fraud.

“I am deeply saddened by this crisis in constitutional government that (a) faction of our people are creating,” Howard wrote. “I am embarrassed at the attempts form (sic) an ‘alternative government’ and how this appears to our business and other partners outside the tribe. The instability created by these reckless actions could have dire effects on our government, our government businesses and services to our people.”

The Seneca-Cayuga Election Commission filed a request for a stay on March 28.  A date has not been announced for that hearing.

The tribe, headquartered near Grove, Okla., has an enrollment of about 5,000 citizens and a separate election scheduled for June 1.