Two major referendum votes for the Warm Springs Confederated Tribes have been put on hold.

Tribal members had been set to vote on whether or not to allow cannabis retail on the reservation on June 16. They were also set to vote on amending their tribal adoption standards on June 30. However, the vote was postponed in order to eliminate potential confusion with the ballot.

The absentee ballots that were mailed out to off reservation Tribal Members included both questions and said the return date was June 16th, which was the Cannabis Referendum date. But the Adoption Election date was June 30, and the two dates created confusion.

“The vote is being postponed to allow for the creation and distribution of corrected ballots.  New dates for voting will be announced and absentee voters will receive updated materials accordingly.

According to the tribal newspaper, the Spilyay Tymoo, a memo went out to tribal members on June 10 from Warm Springs Tribal Council Chairman Dennis White III, which discussed the Tribal Council’s decision to reschedule both the Cannabis Referendum and the Adoption Election.  The memo says “the referendums on Cannabis and Adoption will proceed – just on a revised schedule.”  White noted “these are two distinct referendums that must be considered separately by our membership.”