HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam Election Commission is seeking more information before accommodating the Democratic Party of Guam’s intention to conduct closed primary elections.
Members of the central executive committee of the local Democrats last year voted to shut out Republicans and independent voters from the 2022 Democratic primary, but backpedaled after the election commission said there was insufficient time for it to prepare for the change. Guam’s primary races have traditionally been open, meaning any registered voter of any party can vote in any race.
The Democratic leadership said their position on the matter did not change, and Chirag Bhojwani, the Democrat central committee executive director, wrote to GEC commissioners this year on the need for the agency to create new rules and regulations to handle a closed primary. A lack of proper procedure was pointed to as a hold up for closing the 2022 Democratic primary.
But GEC needs additional information about how the Democratic Party wants to carry out the closed primary, before ironing out their own rules and regulations, according to GEC legal counsel Vince Camacho during a recent commission meeting.
Commissioners were also unclear on what role GEC would have in conducting a closed Democratic primary, and asked Camacho to take a closer look at the law. The possibility of either having the Democratic Party conduct its own closed primary, or having the commission bill the party for time spent conducting a closed primary, were both floated.
2004 court order
Though Guam law requires GEC to conduct all local elections, a 2004 order from Superior Court of Guam Judge Alberto Lamorena mandates that political parties have the freedom to decide what their primary election format will be, according to Camacho. He said the order may mean that the Democratic Party of Guam can conduct its own election, which will then need to be certified by GEC.
“They may not conduct the election per se, but they would have oversight to ensure the validity of the election,” Camacho said.
Figuring out how GEC would be involved in any closed primary would first require further information about how the particular party wants to handle its primary, Camacho added.
“I don’t want the Guam Election Commission to say, ‘This is how you’re going to conduct a closed primary,’ but they need to have oversight,” he said.
GEC Executive Director Maria Pangelinan told commissioners that updated Democratic Party bylaws with further details about the primary had not been received as of June 22.
Republican commissioner Benny Pinaula raised the question of who would foot the bill for a closed party primary, which he said would have a much smaller turnout than one for every registered voter.
“We all understand it when it’s an open primary … the general public is involved, and as a result, the GEC, the taxpayers, pick up the tab on this,” he said. “What now if it’s a closed primary? Does the GEC bill the various parties based on resources, time (and) man-hours that will be required to certify (the results)?”
GEC Vice Chair Alice Taijeron suggested the commission write to the island’s Democratic and Republican parties to inform them that more information about what would be needed must be submitted before GEC could move forward.
“We cannot promulgate rules and regulations contrary to that – contrary to your rules (and) your bylaws,” Taijeron said.
The Guam Election Commission gathers at the Oka Building in Tamuning for their regular meeting June 22, 2023. GEC is seeking more information before accommodating the Democratic Party of Guam’s intention to conduct closed primary elections.
