The CNMI Constitution states that “an amendment proposed by legislative initiative shall become effective if approved by a majority of the votes cast.”
But Hassel-Shearer contends that “everyone who submitted the ballot on the day of the election is a cast even if [their vote was not] counted.”
The Constitution also states that an “initiative petition that proposes a general law for the Commonwealth shall become law if approved by two-thirds of the votes cast by persons qualified to vote in the Commonwealth.”
Hassel-Shearer said the Open Government popular initiative needed two-thirds of the 13,784 cast and not just two-thirds of the total votes counted.
Hence, she added, the initiative, which garnered 7,330 votes, should have received 9,097 to be ratified.
The proposal would have applied the Open Government Act to the Legislature.
Also on the Nov. 7 ballot were House Legislative Initiative 15-3, Senate Legislative Initiative 16-11, and House Legislative Initiative 16-11.
S.L.I. 16-11 will amend the Constitution so that the next regular general elections will be held in even-numbered years to coincide with the U.S. congressional polls.
If ratified, the next midterm elections will be held in 2012, instead of 2011, and the next general elections will be held in 2014 and not 2013.
According to the Commonwealth Election Commission, 6,160 or 44.68 percent of the votes cast favored S.L.I. 16-11 while 4,634 or 33.61 percent voted against it.
2,981 or 21.62 percent were considered undervotes and nine or 0.6 percent were overvotes.
H.L.I. 16-11 will prohibit the withdrawal of any funds from the general funds if there is no balanced budget enacted into law.
This initiative got 6,309 or 45.77 percent “yes” votes and 4,444 or 32.24 percent “no” votes. The remainder were classified as either overvotes or undervotes.
H.L.I. 15-3 seeks to impose a two-term limit on the elected Board of Education members, who serve a term of four years. It also requires that the non-voting public school student representative must be a high school student, and the public school teacher representative must be a teacher.
The proposal got 6,408 “yes” votes, or 45.77 percent, while 4,404, or 32.24 percent, were against it. There were 3,020 undervotes and 11 overvotes.
These numbers are different from the figures posted on the commission’s Web site, http://www.votecnmi.gov.mp/electionresults.php.
