Sablan recently introduced H.R. 3268 in the U.S. Congress to “clarify the application of certain federal laws relating to elections to American Samoa, the CNMI, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
In an interview on Friday, Sablan, a Commonwealth Election Commission executive director for 10 years, said there are parts of the federal election law that do not apply to CNMI and other insular areas.
If someone tries to force people here to vote for a certain candidate by threatening them with the loss of their jobs, federal law might not be able to protect these voters, he added.
H.R. 3268, Sablan said, will make sure that federal law protects voters in the insular areas from these kinds of threats and intimidation.
“First we have to take responsibility for our own elections, but I also want to make sure we have the full protection of federal law. We don’t [have it] right now” Sablan said.
H.R. 3268 also bars aliens from voting and makes it a federal crime to falsify a voter registration.
“This is our own self-government we are talking about,” he said.
“This is something very dear to my heart, having worked with the election commission for 10 years.”
