By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

THE election reform bill, one of the last proposed measures passed by the 28th Legislature before it adjourned last month, is still under review by the governor’s legal counsel, according to Shawn Gumataotao, special assistant to the governor.
Bill 383, introduced by then Sen. Bob Klitzkie, proposes to abolish the current Guam Elections Commission and replace it with the Bureau of Elections and Board of Canvass and Appeals.
Speaker Mark Forbes, R-Sinajana, said under the law, if the governor doesn’t act on a bill within 30 days, the bill is automatically vetoed if the Legislature that passed the bill doesn’t exist anymore. “In this case, the 28th Legislature doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.
Bill 383 was transmitted to the governor’s office on Dec. 29. 
Activist Trini Torres, who has been pushing for election reform while accusing GEC of incompetence, urged Gov. Felix P. Camacho to sign the bill. “Why is the bill being held?” she asked.
“GEC is not doing its job properly. The current leadership and staff of GEC are not qualified to run an election because they refuse to educate themselves on how to conduct an election,” Torres said.
“They don’t even have a written manual for election guidelines. The election reform bill must be signed into law before the next elections,” she added.
Torres is one of the former senatorial candidates who sued GEC for alleged negligence and irregularities during the Sept. 2, 2006 primary.
“If we don’t reform the system now, the same thing will happen in the future. We can’t continue to spend money on lawsuits,” Torres said.
“The person in charge of the elections commission must be somebody who is knowledgeable about the job. Bill 383 will hold election officials and staff accountable for their incompetent actions,” she added.
Klitzkie’s bill was prompted by the blunders committed by GEC throughout the election period.
GEC was the subject of several court litigations as a result of problems related to the primary election and the botched preparations of the drinking age and gambling initiatives. Separate court proceedings on both Prop A and Prop revealed GEC’s violations of election laws and its failure to abide by its own rules and regulations.
The overhaul of the elections office is one of the major components of Bill 383, which seeks to reform Guam’s electoral procedures and proposes the revision of election rules and regulations.
Under Bill 383, the proposed Bureau of Elections would be headed by an administrator, a classified employee, who would be in charge of operational and clerical responsibilities for elections and oversee the election process.
If Bill 383 becomes law, the administrator, with assistance from the bureau’s attorney, would be required to review and re-promulgate election rules and regulations.