When that happens, he said, “They walk off and you’ll probably never get that person to the polls again.”

Like many, Faith said he believes the state Legislature passed the voter identification law because Native American voters boosted Heitkamp over her Republican opponent. “My honest opinion — I really strongly feel that way,” he said.

He said he’d like to boost the reservation’s tepid turnout, perhaps by aligning the timing of tribal elections with federal and state elections, but many on Standing Rock aren’t engaged with federal politics. Despite the impression people elsewhere may have formed of the reservation in the wake of the protests, Faith points out many protesters were from elsewhere.

In August 2016, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland issued a preliminary injunction against the law, finding that “the undisputed evidence before the Court reveals that Native Americans face substantial and disproportionate burdens in obtaining each form of ID deemed acceptable under the new law.”

The law “imposes ‘excessively burdensome requirements’ on Native American voters in North Dakota that far outweighs the interests put forth by the State of North Dakota,” Hovland wrote, adding there was “a total lack of any evidence to show voter fraud has ever been a problem in North Dakota.”

The state Legislature amended the law and, earlier this year, the state asked that part of Hovland’s injunction be lifted; Hovland found the new law still disadvantaged Native Americans and kept a limited stay in place allowing the use of identification bearing mailing addresses. He also found many weren’t aware of the law’s requirements.

The state appealed, and on Sept. 24, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed part of Hovland’s injunction, placing the residential street address requirement back in force for November’s election.

In a 2-1 decision, the panel found the state was likely to succeed on the merits of the suit, and would suffer irreparable harm without a stay if voters use mailing addresses to vote in incorrect precincts.

“If any resident of North Dakota lacks a current residential street address and is denied an opportunity to vote on that basis, the courthouse doors remain open,” Judge Steven M. Colloton wrote in the majority opinion.

The state has said it is working to make sure everyone has a residential street address, or can quickly and easily get one, and Jaeger’s office has notified the tribes of the requirements.

Voters who do not have the required identification can still supplement what they do have with other documents, such as a paycheck or utility bill that have a residential street address, or documents issued by a tribal government. Failing that, voters can cast a “set aside” ballot, but must return within six days and present sufficient identification for it to be counted.

In a statement after the 8th Circuit ruling, Matthew Campbell, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund who represented the plaintiffs, said the group is “disappointed” with the decision.

“The court acknowledged that thousands of Native American voters will not be able to vote under the State’s system,” he said. “North Dakota’s voter ID laws require voters to provide forms of identification that many Native Americans voters do not have and cannot obtain.”

On Sept. 28, the plaintiffs filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a stay of the 8th Circuit ruling. On Oct. 9, the court denied the request.

In an e-mailed statement to the Center for Public Integrity after the ruling, Jaeger said his office will continue working with tribal leadership “so that they may assist their members in obtaining the necessary ID, for those who do not already have it.”

OJ Semans, co-executive director of Four Directions, a South Dakota-based group that advocates for Native American voting rights, said his group is in the early stages of reaching out to the North Dakota secretary of state’s office and to the leadership of tribes in North Dakota, including Standing Rock. He said he wants tribal officials to be present at polling places, able to issue required documentation, including residential addresses, on tribal letterhead at the polls to voters who need it. Standing Rock will send out drivers on Election Day to help bring people to the polls and is offering to help people obtain addresses and updated identification in the interim, the tribe said in a statement.