PASADENA, Calif. — California is home to the largest Native American population in the country, and efforts to get their voter participation up are in full swing. 

Today, around 4.7 million Native Americans are eligible to vote, and about 37% on average have turned out over the past six election cycles, according to the Native American Rights Fund.

Low participation comes from a lack of trust that stems from the dark history between Indigenous people and the U.S. government. Native Americans couldn’t vote until 1924 and even then faced decades of voter suppression.

Other issues include access to broadband, transportation and lack of information regarding issues that impact these communities.

Although there is still work to do, there has been progress in recent years. This election, there is a record-breaking number of Native Americans running for state and local office.