Guam Public Law 25-106 sets forth ground rules for a plebiscite to test preference for Guam’s future political status. It very specifically disenfranchises approximately 60 percent of our population due to ancestral tracings, though the law contains disclaimers to the effect that voter eligibility hinges not upon race but upon political classification and ancestry. Among those barred from registering and voting are our congressional delegate, at least three former lieutenant governors of Guam, several members of the Guam Legislature past and present and thousands of other contributing members of society, public and private.
Fortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has made abundantly clear its position on race and ancestry as voter qualifications. In Rice vs. Cayetano the court found no distinction between the two with respect to rights guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment as follows:
“Racial discrimination is that which singles out identifiable classes of persons…solely because of their ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”
Further: “Distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality.”
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for misunderstanding. Nevertheless, not one of our local politicians has had the moxie to admit that local law is discriminatory and wrong and needs to be changed to accommodate Guam’s ethnically diverse community without regard for ancestry, national origin or skin color. Not one of them has been willing to confront the inevitable apoplectic, foam-at-the-mouth backlash from Chamorro activists. Until now.
Several weeks ago, during discussion of this political hot potato on local talk radio, former Governor Gutierrez dialed in and presented his new view of how the plebiscite should be handled.
He apparently now favors opening the plebiscite to all registered Guam voters, regardless of ancestry or other matters. Actually, the Organic Act of Guam requires exactly that. “No qualification with respect to property, income, political opinion, or any other matter apart from citizenship, civil capacity, and residence shall be imposed upon any voter.”. That’s quite clear.
Crystal, even. The former governor’s new-found generosity is somewhat surprising because he is, after all, the architect of the Commission on Decolonization and its repugnant discriminatory language.
He would also open the plebiscite to all Chamorros worldwide. I suppose it’s theoretically possible, but it would be an administrative nightmare. More than one law would need changing, as only registered Guam voters may now vote in any Guam election. How could eligibility be confirmed, registration completed and votes accurately counted for the 100,000 Chamorros living elsewhere? It can’t reasonably be done.
And why this sudden change of heart and mind by former Governor Gutierrez as he once again traverses the rocky road toward Adelup? Has he belatedly realized that discriminatory local law, and those who support it, just can’t prevail? Or is this a tacit acknowledgement that he sorely needs the non-Chamorro vote in the upcoming election?
Regardless of his motives and reasons, he’ll likely run head-on into a gaggle of “Chamorro Only” fellow Democrats led by Senator Pangelinan who, like most Guam politicians, also has designs on Adelup. Regardless of how it eventually plays out it’s sure to be worth watching.
DAVE DAVIS
Yigo, Guam
