DEVELOPING | ELECTION UPDATE — October 8, 2026
By Steven Bullcoming Haworth | Truth in Focus | Northern Cheyenne Elections
LAME DEER, Montana — The November 3 Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council election is less than a month away. A newly reviewed Council notice provides answers to two important questions: the Council says no primary election will take place, and write-in voting will be permitted in the general election. It also raises urgent questions about official candidate notices, polling information, deadlines and how contested filings will be handled.
This is a continuing report, not a replacement for Truth in Focus’s October 7 article. That earlier report remains available as originally published. This update adds information from the new Council notice and the revised tribal election ordinance, and distinguishes documented rules from the Council’s explanations and records the newsroom has not independently obtained.
November 3: Five Council Seats, Not the Separate Presidential Vacancy
The Council notice identifies November 3, 2026, as the election date for five Tribal Council seats. It maintains that Council members elected in 2022 and 2024 are the officials authorized to conduct the election, citing an August 18 Tribal Court order, a September 22 appellate opinion, and subsequent September orders. The courts’ dispute over Council authority and the later September 30 removal of President Gene Small are related politically but are not the same legal proceeding.
Resolutions DOI-020 and DOI-021, adopted September 30, record the Council’s removal vote and its designation of Ernest Littlemouth Sr. as interim president. They contemplate a separate special election to fill the presidential vacancy. The newsroom has not authenticated a final schedule or candidate information for that separate election. The November 3 election described here concerns Council seats.
What the Council Says About the Primary
In a newly circulated notice headed ‘The Only Lawful Northern Cheyenne Tribal Election on November 3, 2026,’ the Council states that no primary will be held. Its explanation is that each district had no more qualified candidates than twice the number of seats open in that district.
That explanation reflects the no-primary provision in Section 8(d) of the Northern Cheyenne Revised Tribal Election Ordinance. Under the ordinance, when the number of qualified candidates does not exceed twice the available district Council seats, the election proceeds without a primary and write-in voting is permitted at the general election. If the qualifying threshold is exceeded, the primary-election rules are different.
The Council says the Voters Committee reviewed declarations and found the timely filers qualified. Truth in Focus has not yet independently verified the complete qualified-candidate list, the number of filings for each district or the committee’s determinations. Those records are essential to independently confirming the Council’s application of the rule.
Write-In Votes: Allowed, but Voters Need Instructions
The Council’s notice explicitly says write-in voting will be permitted on November 3. Section 8(d) of the election ordinance likewise provides for write-ins in a general election held without a primary. That does not eliminate the ordinance’s qualifications for holding office or answer every practical question about valid write-in ballots.
Voters should be given clear information about the correct ballot method, district eligibility, polling locations and hours, absentee-ballot procedures and how ballots will be counted. This newsroom will not assume that Montana state-election procedures necessarily govern a separate Northern Cheyenne tribal election.
October 13: The 21-Day Public-Notice Requirement
Section 9(b) of the tribal election ordinance states that at least 21 days before an election, the Tribal Secretary must post a Notice of Election listing the candidates at three public places in each Reservation District. For a November 3 election, that 21-day point is October 13, 2026.
The Council says candidacy notices were posted September 8 and publicized by livestream, social media and tribal communication channels. Those are its claims about earlier notice soliciting candidates, not proof by themselves that the separate 21-day Notice of Election, including candidate names, has been posted in each district. Truth in Focus is seeking photographs or copies showing locations and posting dates.
The new Council notice also says absentee ballots have already been sent to qualified absentee voters. We have not independently obtained the absentee-ballot mailing record or the complete instructions provided to voters. Publicly available election notices should be accessible to people who do not use Facebook or cannot reliably access the internet.
The Filing Deadline, Candidate Fees and Possible Disputes
According to the Council, its September 8 resolutions established the election schedule and appointed election officials, with a September 11 deadline for declarations of candidacy. The Council says the shortened time frame followed the court orders and that it will not add candidates after the filing deadline. The newsroom has not yet independently reviewed every September 8 resolution, filing receipt, or notice of rejection.
The election ordinance provides for a filing fee and written acknowledgment of a properly submitted declaration. It also allows adjustments to fees for later elections. Questions about an individual who paid a fee, attempted to file, or contests an eligibility decision cannot be answered without the receipt, the applicable fee resolution, filing-date evidence and any ruling. Truth in Focus has not verified claims that particular filings or court challenges have been served or acted upon, and will not describe an unverified filing as an effective court order.
What the Court Orders Establish—and What They Don’t
An August tribal-court ruling and subsequent appellate and trial-court proceedings concern which Council members may exercise governmental authority after the disputed 2025 Council replacement effort. Independent reporting has described court orders directing the recognized Council members to administer the November election and restore access to government and election records. The newly obtained Council notice cites these decisions in defending its schedule.
The existence of those decisions does not by itself verify every later election notice, candidate determination or ballot procedure. It also does not establish the outcome of any fresh challenge whose documents and procedural status have not been independently confirmed. Truth in Focus will update readers if authenticated filings, service records or new court orders become available.
Records We Are Still Requesting
The remaining documentation includes the official district-by-district candidate list; the signed September 8 election resolutions; the Voters Committee’s candidate determinations; notices bearing their posting dates and locations; polling hours and locations; absentee-ballot instructions; fee and receipt records where disputes arise; and any subsequent court orders affecting the election. These requests are intended to answer practical voter questions without endorsing any candidate or side in the government dispute.
With November 3 approaching, the most useful public information is concrete: who is listed on the ballot, how eligible voters may vote, where and when they may vote, and where they can obtain authoritative corrections or assistance. Truth in Focus will continue distinguishing what the records establish from what officials say and what has yet to be verified.
Documents and Further Reading
Northern Cheyenne Revised Tribal Election Ordinance, particularly Sections 8 and 9; Northern Cheyenne Amended Constitution and Bylaws; Council’s October 2026 election notice (copy reviewed by Truth in Focus); Resolutions DOI-020 and DOI-021 (2026), including the October 2 BIA-received cover letter; and Montana Free Press coverage of the August 18 tribal-court decision.
Earlier coverage: Northern Cheyenne Nov. 3 Election: What We Know So Far (October 7, 2026).
Editorial note: This is a dated follow-up. It preserves the original article and may be supplemented when authenticated election records or additional responses are received. No unverified court filing is characterized as a judicial decision.