Get to Know Your Ballot

• The next Chief election will be in 2027.

• Tribal Councilpersons in Districts 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, & 12 will be voted on in the July 2025 election. Only half of the 12 Councilpersons of the Choctaw Nation are voted on in 2025. The other six will be voted on in the 2027 election.

• You may contact the candidate using the information that the candidate has provided in their public biography.

• If there is an ordinance question on the ballot, it will be posted 30-60 days prior to election day. Refer to the sample ballot prior to election day.

Yes, every registered voter will receive a ballot.

Tribal members will need to complete a Voter Registration form and submit it via mail or email. For more information, visit https://www.choctawnation.com/about/government/voter-registration/register-to-vote-2/.

Mail-in Ballots will be distributed to currently registered voters by June 21, 2025. However, ballots will continue to be issued through Election Day for new or updated voters.

All Mail-in Ballots must be received and processed by the U.S. Postal Service in Durant, OK by July 11, 2025 to be counted. The Election Board will not accept Mail-in Ballots at its office.

Section 2.          “Where in this Constitution the term “Choctaw Nation” or “the Nation” is used to denote a geographical area, it shall mean all lands within the exterior boundaries of The Choctaw Nation Reservation including those lands within the original boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation determined by federal statutes and treaties and to such other lands as may hereafter be acquired by or for.

• What is the purpose of changing the physical description of the Choctaw Nation Reservation to a broader and more general description?
  • Those boundaries are based on a map that is not available. The proposed description of the boundaries is clearer and more readable.

• How could this new, broader description impact the current boundaries of the Choctaw Nation?
  • It will not impact the current boundaries of the Choctaw Nation as the new description is based on existing federal statutes and treaties.

Article IV, Section 1.          Nothing in this Constitution shall be interpreted in a way which would diminish the rights and privileges that tribal members have as citizens of this Nation.

Article XVII. All elected or appointed officials shall take the following oath:

“I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitutions of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity.

I further swear (or affirm) that I will devote my best efforts toward the preservation of the heritage and tradition of the Choctaw Nation in order that all mankind may better understand, evaluate, and appreciate the history of its glorious past and enjoy its brilliant future, so help me God.”

• What is the purpose of removing the reference to the State of Oklahoma and the federal government from the constitution?  
  • Removing this language strengthens the Nation’s sovereignty by enabling the Choctaw Nation to be ruled by its own laws. This proposal also amends the Article XVIl Oath of Office by removing “the State of Oklahoma, and the United States of America” from the Oath of Office to be uniform and further strengthen the Nation’s ability to make, amend, and be governed by its own laws.

Article VIII, Section 2.          The Tribal Council shall consist of twelve (12) members, one (1) each to be elected from twelve (12) districts which lie within the boundaries set forth in Article I, Section 2 of this Constitution. The Tribal Council is responsible for determining the area embraced within each district and shall have the responsibility for reappointment based on population when necessary.

• What is the purpose of removing the description of the 12 districts?
  • The current description of the twelve (12) Districts and land they embrace is no longer accurate due to reapportionment by Tribal Council, which is within Tribal Council’s power. Removing the individual land descriptions for each District and providing the Tribal Council’s general authority to determine the area each District embraces by making these amendments makes the Choctaw Constitution more accurate and clearer.

Article VIII, Section 5.          At the hour of twelve (12) noon on October 1, 1983, following the ratification of this Constitution, the successful candidates for Tribal Council shall meet with the elected Chief and the Choctaw Election Commission at the Capital at Tvshka Homma at which time and place the Chairperson/Arbitrator of the Commission will place twelve (12) slips of paper in a receptacle, six (6) of which will have the number four (4) on them and six (6) will have the number two (2) written on them. Each slip will be folded so that the number thereon cannot be seen. In the presence of each other and the elected Chief, each successful candidate shall draw one (1) of the slips from the receptacle and the number on the slip each of the successful candidates draws will be the number of years he shall serve during the first term.

• What is the purpose of updating the spelling of “Tvshka Homma”?  
  • This amendment exercises sovereignty and protects and promotes Choctaw Culture by correctly referring to the Capitol of the Choctaw Nation by its Choctaw translation from “Red Warrior.”

Article XVIII, Section 2.          Adoption by not less than fifty-one percent (51%) of the total number of qualified voters of the Nation voting in the last Chief’s election shall be required to amend this Constitution.

• What is the purpose of removing the Secretary of the Interior approval requirement?  
  • Removing this Secretary of the Interior approval requirement from the Choctaw Constitution enhances the Nation’s sovereignty by removing federal oversight and enables the Choctaw Nation to amend the Choctaw Constitution without federal interference or involvement.