Ruling Covenant Party supporters told Variety that about 100 voted last Friday and a total of 1,200 already cast their ballots as of yesterday.
They estimated that at least half of these voters are Covenant Party supporters.
There are over 16,000 voters who registered for the Nov. 2 congressional delegate election.
Assistant Attorney General Meaghan Hassel-Shearer, in an email yesterday, said she received three complaints of voter intimidation during the early voting period.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial told Variety during a Covenant Party gathering across from the Commonwealth Election Commission on Sunday that the assistant AG informed him that voters were being intimidated “by the people from the other camp.”
He did not elaborate.
Hassel-Shearer said she is taking the complaints “very seriously.”
Under federal law, she said voter intimidation, conspiring to suppress voter participation and vote buying are “expressly prohibited.”
Hassel-Shearer said she has met
with the Office of the Public Auditor, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the AG criminal division to discuss the complaints.
She said she also heard concerns from voters that the candidates they voted for could be identified if they chose to vote early.
Hassel-Shearer assured that ballots are kept in sealed boxes. Only OPA has the keys to these boxes, she said.
When the ballots are counted on Nov. 2, the voters’ registration forms will be separated from the ballots.
After all the registration forms are removed, the ballot envelopes will be opened.
The secrecy of each ballot remains intact, Hassel-Shearer said.
The candidates for Congress are incumbent Gregorio C. Sablan, Independent; former Rep. Joseph N. Camacho, Covenant; former Gov. Juan N. Babauta, Republican; and former Lt. Gov. Jesus C. Borja, Democrat.
Also on the ballot are three proposals to amend the CNMI Constitution:
• House Legislative Initiative 16-18, which will authorize the Department of Public Lands to reserve up to 20 percent of its operational expense for land compensation payments;
• House L.I. 16-13, which will prohibit any increase in retirement benefits until all government obligations to the Retirement Fund have been satisfied or the system is fully funded; and,
• H.L.I. 17-1 which will authorize the government to issue pension obligation bond to pay its debt to the Retirement Fund.
