A federal judge made no immediate ruling Monday on a motion to stop the Cherokee Nation’s June 23 general election.

Last month, descendants of freed Cherokee slaves, commonly known as Freedmen, filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop the tribe’s election, in which current Chief Chad Smith is running for re-election.

Cherokee officials say the Freedmen are asking the court “to order relief (they) have already obtained,” because their full citizenship rights have been temporarily restored, making them eligible to vote in the upcoming election.

U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. listened to nearly 90 minutes of testimony before taking the matter under advisement. It was unknown when he would issue a ruling.

Meanwhile, the Cherokees continue to prepare for the election.

In March, Cherokee voters decided in a special election to amend the nation’s constitution to remove about 2,800 Freedmen descendants and other non-Indians from the tribal rolls.

About two weeks after the Freedmen descendants filed their motion, the nation’s attorney general agreed to a temporary injunction in tribal court allowing the Freedmen descendants to maintain their citizenship while they appeal the constitutionality of the election.

Jon Velie, the attorney for the Freedmen in the federal case, called the temporary injunction an “11th-hour maneuver” to give the election an appearance of legitimacy.

But Cherokee Nation spokesman Mike Miller said there was “no disputing the fact” Freedmen descendants can vote in the upcoming election.

But many Freedmen will be allowed to vote for only the two at-large representatives, created under the 2003 Constitutional amendment to the 1975 Cherokee Constitution, Velie said.

United States officials deemed the amendment illegal because the Freedmen were not permitted to vote in the election in which it was adopted. Therefore, many Freedmen’s votes will count toward illegitimate electoral positions, effectively rendering these votes useless, Velie said. The Freedmen are denied the opportunity to participate fully in the electoral process, he said.

Velie also said although voter registration for Freedmen was temporarily opened, applications for citizenship for Freedmen were not. Freedmen who have had citizenship applications pending since as far back as August 2006 were recently instructed Freedmen applications were not being processed.

“This maneuver has reduced the number of Freedmen who could participate in the election,” Velie said. “The Cherokee government estimates the number of Freedmen with Cherokee citizenship is between 2,700 and 2,800, while the number of Freedmen eligible for citizenship is believed to be about 25,000.”