[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 25, Volume 1] [Revised as of April 1, 2004] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 25CFR81.1] [Page 245-247] TITLE 25--INDIANS CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PART 81_TRIBAL REORGANIZATION UNDER A FEDERAL STATUTE--Table of Contents Sec. 81.1 Definitions. Sec. 81.1 Definitions. 81.2 Purpose and scope. 81.3 Group eligibility. 81.4 Assistance from the Department of the Interior. 81.5 Request to call election. 81.6 Entitlement to vote. 81.7 Adoption, ratification, or revocation by majority vote. 81.8 Election board. 81.9 Voting districts. 81.10 District Election Boards. 81.11 Registration. 81.12 Voting list. 81.13 Eligibility disputes. 81.14 Election notices. 81.15 Opening and closing of polls. 81.16 Interpreters. 81.17 Electioneering. 81.18 Manner of voting. 81.19 Absentee voting. 81.20 Ballots. 81.21 Counting of ballots. 81.22 Contesting of election results. 81.23 Posting and certifying election results. 81.24 Approval, disapproval, or rejection action. Authority: 25 U.S.C. 473a, 476, 477, and 503. Source: 46 FR 1670, Jan. 7, 1981, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982. As used in this part: (a) Adult Indian means any Indian as defined in paragraph (i) of this section who has attained the age of 18 years. (b) Amendment means any modification, change, or total revision of a constitution or charter. (c) Authorizing Officer means the Bureau of Indian Affairs official having authority to authorize the calling of a Secretarial election. (d) Cast ballot means an official ballot that is cast in the proper manner at [[Page 246]] the proper time by a duly registered voter. A ballot is cast by duly placing it in the ballot box or, in the case of absentee voting, when the ballot is duly received through the mail by the election board. (e) Charter means the charter of incorporation the Secretary may issue to a reorganized tribe pursuant to Federal Statute. (f) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Indian Affairs or his/her authorized representative. (g) Constitution or Constitution and Bylaws means the written organizational framework of any tribe reorganized pursuant to a Federal Statute for the exercise of governmental powers. (h) Federal Statute means one of the following: (1) The Act of June 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 984, as amended (Indian Reorganization Act); (2) the Act of June 26, 1936, 49 Stat. 1967 (Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act); or (3) the Act of May 1, 1936, 49 Stat. 1250 (Alaska Native Reorganization Act). (i) Indian means: (1) All persons who are members of those tribes listed or eligible to be listed in the Federal Register pursuant to 25 CFR 83.6(b) as recognized by and receiving services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs; provided, that the tribes have not voted to exclude themselves from the Act of June 18, 1934, 43 Stat. 984, as amended; and (2) any person not a member of one of the listed or eligible to be listed tribes who possesses at least one-half degree of Indian blood. (j) Invalid ballot means an official cast ballot discovered at the time the votes are counted which does not comply with the requirements for voting or is not an official ballot. An invalid ballot is not to be counted for determining the number of cast ballots. (k) Member means any Indian who is duly enrolled in a tribe who meets a tribe's written criteria for membership or who is recognized as belonging to a tribe by the local Indians comprising the tribe. (l) Mutilated ballot means an official ballot that has been damaged to the extent that it is not possible to determine the choice the voter intended to make. There are two kinds of mutilated official ballots: (1) A ballot that is mutilated and not cast. In this case, the mutilated ballot may be exchanged for a new one. If the need arises to exchange a mutilated absentee ballot, no additional time will be provided for the new ballot to be received by the election board. (2) A ballot that is mutilated and cast. A mutilated cast ballot is to be counted in the same manner as a spoiled cast ballot. (m) Officer in Charge means the Superintendent, Administrative Officer, or other official of the local unit of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (or a Bureau employee that such person might designate) having administrative jurisdiction over a tribe. (n) Official ballot means a ballot prepared by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for use in an election pursuant to this part. It is possible that an official ballot may be found to be either spoiled or mutilated at the time the votes are counted. (o) Registration means the act whereby persons, who are eligible to vote, become entitled or qualified to cast ballots by having their names placed on the list of persons who will be permitted to vote. (p) Reorganized tribe means a tribe whose members have adopted a constitution pursuant to a Federal Statute. (q) Reservation means any area established by treaty, Congressional Act, Executive Order, or otherwise for the use or occupancy of Indians. (r) Revocation means that act whereby the adult members of a tribe vote to abandon their constitutional form of government as opposed to their voting to amend or totally revise it. (s) Secretarial election means an election held within a tribe pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary as authorized by Federal Statute (as distinguished from tribal elections which are conducted under tribal authority. (See Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. Andrus, 566 F. 2d 1085 (8th Cir., 1977), cert. denied 439 U.S. 820 (1978)). (t) Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior or his/her authorized representative. (u) Spoiled ballot means an official ballot that has been marked in such a way that it is not possible to determine [[Page 247]] the intent of the voter, a ballot that has not been marked at all, or one that has been marked so as to violate the secrecy of the ballot. There are two kinds of spoiled official ballots: (1) A ballot that is spoiled and not cast. In this case, the spoiled ballot may be exchanged for a new one. If the need arises to exchange a spoiled absentee ballot, no additional time will be provided for the new ballot to be received by the election board. (2) A ballot that is spoiled and cast. A spoiled cast ballot is to be counted in tabulating the total votes cast in conjunction with determining whether the required percentage of the qualified voters has participated in the election. (v) Tribal government means that entity established pursuant to a tribal constitution as empowered to speak for the tribe or in the absence thereof any group or individual that is recognized by the tribal members as empowered to speak for the tribe. (w) Tribe means: (1) Any Indian entity that has not voted to exclude itself from the Indian Reorganization Act and is included, or is eligible to be included, among those tribes, bands, pueblos, groups, communities, or Alaska Native entities listed in the Federal Register pursuant to Sec. 83.6(b) of this chapter as recognized and receiving services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and (2) any group of Indians whose members each have at least one-half degree of Indian blood for whom a reservation is established and who each reside on that reservation. Such tribes may consist of any consolidation of one or more tribes or parts of tribes. (x) Voting district means a geographical area established to facilitate a tribal election process.