Fort Peck tribal members took legal action in September against the Montana secretary of state and two counties, alleging that the lack of satellite election offices on the reservation caused voter suppression. Last week, a motion for a hearing before the November election was denied.

The lawsuit seeks to compel Montana’s secretary of state, Roosevelt and Valley counties to create satellite election offices in Frazer and Poplar to ease the travel burden. For tribal members, it can be a nearly 60-mile round trip to the nearest election office.

The tribes argue that the counties’ refusal to establish satellite voting offices in the Frazer and Poplar reservation towns infringes on their voting rights and dilutes their voting power.

Documents obtained by NBC Montana show correspondence in which tribal members offered community halls that could serve as election centers.

The Fort Peck Reservation is the second largest in Montana, covering over 2 million acres of land. All voters there must travel to either Glasgow or Wolf Point if they intend to vote.

Bret Healy, a consultant for tribal members, criticized the decision to postpone the hearing as a political tactic.

“These defendants have successfully burned the clock, which is unfortunate,” Healy said.

Roosevelt County Attorney Theresa Diekhans said the suggestion for satellite offices has been made to the tribes since last year, but tribal officials have not requested them. She claimed she only received complaints after the lawsuit was filed in September.

County officials and the Diekhans contacted the tribe, but received no correspondence until she went in person. After that, Roosevelt County established a satellite office in Wolf Point, which was open from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. October 21-23.

“It takes coordination with the tribe,” Diekhans said. “When we finally drove there and met them in person, we were able to coordinate the three days.”

The Diekhans viewed this as an act of goodwill given the short notice, but those representing the plaintiffs believe it was too little, too late.

“I can’t do it this time, and this is simply unequal and shows a lack of respect for American democratic principles,” Healy said.

Establishing electoral offices is not simple. Security, wi-fi and proper equipment are required. Requesting satellite polling centers at such short notice was a challenging request. For the county attorney, her priority is to make sure the election runs as smoothly as possible with no room for error.

“We are committed to open and fair elections for everyone,” Diekhans said. “But we also have to make sure — and it’s up to the county, my election officials and me — to make sure the integrity and security of that election. We’re the ones who answer when it’s all said and done and those votes are counted and that’s all we’ve tried to do.”

This isn’t the first time Healy has been involved in Montana elections. Healy was part of Wandering Medicine V. McCullough.

Electoral directive #01-2015published in October 2015, focuses on satellite electoral offices. The first directive tells counties they must conduct analyzes to determine when reservations need satellite offices. It was formed out of Wandering Medicine v. McCullough, in which a coalition of Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap Tribal members sued state and county officials for failing to provide accessible polling stations.

Following discussions with the Diekhans, Healy confirmed that the Fort Peck Tribal Council voted unanimously to be added as plaintiffs in the case.

“Equal means equal,” Healy said.