(Editor’s note: The following article has been updated significantly since it originally and erroneously reported that the five constitutional amendments discussed below had passed. The article was pulled from publication after about two hours and was republished with corrected information at 4:20 p.m. Monday, July 14, about the voter turnout calculation required for adoption. NonDoc regrets the error.)
A provision in the Choctaw Nation Constitution requiring changes to receive support totaling at least 51 percent of all votes cast in the tribe’s last chief election prevented five amendments from passing Saturday, even though each received more than 84 percent support from the more than 10,100 citizens who cast ballots.
As a result, each of the five amendments — including the controversial Amendment 2 that proposed the elimination of certain legal protections for Choctaw citizens — failed, according to Randy Sachs, public relations manager for the Choctaw Nation. Under Article 18, Section 2 of the Choctaw Constitution, all amendments require “adoption by not less than 51 percent of the total number of qualified voters
of the Nation voting in the last chief’s election.”
Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton was reelected by default in 2019 and 2023, meaning the tribe’s 2015 chief election was its most recent for calculation of the vote total requirement. According to archived election results, 21,727 votes were cast in the 2015 chief’s race, meaning 51 percent of that total would have been 11,081, meaning each amendment fell between 2,503 and 1,581 votes short of adoption.
Meanwhile, two of this year’s contested Choctaw Nation Tribal Council seats were decided Saturday, with a third race headed for an Aug. 9 runoff.
Jess Henry was reelected to his District 4 seat on the Choctaw Nation Tribal Council, and Regina Mabray won the open District 12 seat. None of the seven candidates in District 5 secured a majority, so the two with the most votes — Jennifer Turner and Earl Smith — will compete in a runoff election next month.
Six of the 12 Choctaw Nation Tribal Council seats were open for a general election this cycle. Candidates for Districts 6, 9 and 10 were unopposed and were certified as victors, leaving Districts 4, 5 and 12 as the only contested general elections for council seats. The District 7 race was also contested initially, but the Choctaw Nation Election Board certified incumbent Joey Tom’s victory June 2 after challenger Adrian Johnico died in a car crash. The winning candidates will serve four-year terms in the nation’s legislative branch, which is responsible for establishing tribal law and overseeing the Choctaw Nation’s $2.8 billion budget.
The Choctaw Nation began releasing unofficial results after polls closed at 7 p.m. Saturday. Choctaw citizens could vote by mail or in person, and results indicate that 10,182 ballots were cast for Amendment 4, the highest total for any of the nationwide votes.
Jess Henry retains District 4
Incumbent Jess Henry was reelected to the Choctaw Nation Tribal Council District 4 seat, receiving 651 of the 833 votes cast (73.73 percent support). He defeated his sole challenger, Kenneth Marshall, who earned 232 votes.
“This victory isn’t just mine,” Henry wrote in a Facebook post. “It belongs to all of us who believe in a stronger, more united Choctaw Nation. As I continue serving you, I remain committed to improving housing, education, health care, and promoting more job opportunities across our communities.”
District 5 headed to runoff
Jennifer Turner and Earl Smith are set to face off in an Aug. 9 runoff election for the open District 5 seat. Turner received 343 of the 1,001 total votes cast (34.27 percent support), and Smith received 201 votes (20.08 percent).
Other candidates in the District 5 race were Sharona Farmer (162 votes), Tami Gonzales-Cantrell (132 votes), Marlena Crase (115 votes), Vincent Terrell (35 votes) and Kimberly Ford (13 votes).
A special election was called to fill the District 5 seat when former Councilman Ron Perry resigned after being charged with six counts of sexual battery. The winner of the runoff election will serve the remainder of Perry’s term through 2027.
Regina Mabray wins open District 12 seat
Regina Mabray won 587 of the 771 total votes cast (76.13 percent support). She defeated challenger Vickie McClure, who received 184 votes (23.87 percent).
“I am running for Tribal Council so I can be a dedicated advocate for District 12,” Mabray wrote in a Facebook post. “My top priorities are providing for our elders, more and better access to health care, improving educational opportunities for our youth and increasing housing units.”
Mabray will succeed longtime Councilman James Frazier, who is retiring after 35 years on the Choctaw Nation Tribal Council.
Amendment 1 would have broadened definition of nation’s lands
Of the voters who cast ballots in Saturday’s election, wide majorities attempted to approve all five constitutional amendments. However, since none of the amendments achieved the support of 51 percent of the 2015 chief’s election turnout, each procedurally failed.
Amendment 1 received 9,317 of the 10,151 total votes cast (91.78 percent support).
The amendment would have broadened the Choctaw Nation’s constitutional definition of its lands, allowing land outside the originally described boundaries to be considered part of the nation. The change would have clarified that the nation’s jurisdiction extends to off-reservation land held in trust for the nation, which is legally Indian Country but has been excluded from the nation’s constitutionally defined area.
The stated purpose of Amendment 1 in the official 2025 Choctaw election guide was to make the boundaries’ description “clearer and more readable.” The guide made no reference to the voter participation requirement that ultimately blocked each amendment from passing.
Amendment 2 would have lessened Bill of Rights protections
Voters cast 8,578 of 10,152 votes (84.5 percent support) in favor of Amendment 2, which posed perhaps have the biggest impact of the five amendments considered in Saturday’s election.
Under Article 4, Section 1 of the Choctaw Constitution, the nation’s laws are prohibited from “diminish(ing) the rights and privileges that tribal members have as citizens of this nation, the state of Oklahoma, the United States of America or under any act of the Congress of the United States.”
But Amendment 2 proposed striking that section’s references to Oklahoma and the United States, which would have provided the Choctaw Nation Tribal Council the flexibility to “diminish” rights tribal citizens hold under state or federal law but not Choctaw law. The amendment would also have changed Article XVII of the Choctaw Constitution, which stipulates the oath of office taken by elected or appointed tribal officials. The oath would have been amended to delete the pledge to “support, obey and defend” the Oklahoma Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.
Supporters argued the amendment would strengthen tribal sovereignty, but critics said it would jeopardize individual rights not explicitly protected in the Choctaw Constitution. Perhaps most immediately, Amendment 2 would have repealed the language cited by the Choctaw Constitutional Court to invalidate a Tribal Council-passed law banning the recognition of same-sex marriage.
Amendment 3 would have made district language ‘more accurate’
Amendment 3 received 9,076 of 10,133 total votes (89.57 percent support).
Amendment 3 would have removed the description of Tribal Council districts within the current constitution and would have clarified that the Tribal Council has the power to reapportion new districts. The council already has the power to reapportion, so this change would have been mostly procedural to clarify the document’s meaning.
According to the 2025 Choctaw election guide, the official purpose of Amendment 3 was to make “the Choctaw Constitution more accurate and clearer” since the Tribal Council already has the power to reapportion districts, and the current district descriptions are inaccurate.
Amendment 4 would have changed capital’s spelling
Voters cast 9,500 of 10,182 total votes (93.3 percent support) in support of Amendment 4, which saw the most ballots cast in Saturday’s election. Nonetheless, it did not meet the participation threshold for adoption.
The amendment would have renamed the capital of the Choctaw Nation from “Tuskahoma” to the traditional spelling “Tvshka Homma.” The change would have been procedural and without a substantive policy effect.
According to the 2025 Choctaw election guide, the official purpose of Amendment 4 was to exercise sovereignty, as well as promote “Choctaw culture by correctly referring to the Capitol of the Choctaw Nation by its Choctaw translation from ‘Red Warrior.'”
Amendment 5 would have eliminated federal requirement
Amendment 5 received 9,196 of 10,166 total votes (90.46 percent support).
Amendment 5 would have removed the Choctaw Constitution’s requirement that its amendments be approved by the United States secretary of the interior, who is currently Doug Burgum.
Federal statute gives the secretary of the interior the power to disapprove tribes’ constitutional amendments “contrary to applicable laws,” but federal policy has leaned toward not exercising that power and respecting tribal sovereignty. Removing the constitutional provision could have set up an awkward legal scenario if a secretary of the interior disapproves a constitutional amendment and all of the tribe’s branches of government maintain it remains in effect.
According to the 2025 Choctaw election guide, the official purpose of Amendment 5 was to enhance “the nation’s sovereignty by removing federal oversight” and enable “the Choctaw Nation to amend the Choctaw Constitution without federal interference or involvement.”
Amendment 5 was opposed by the Descendants of Freedmen of the Five Civilized Tribes Association. Members of the organization, including Choctaw Freedmen Shelby Ward and president of the Cherokee Freedmen Marilyn Vann, argued federal oversight of the Choctaw Nation was “needed to enforce freedmen’s rights under the 1866 treaty.”
