COMMONWEALTH Election Commission Executive Director Kayla Igitol said the early voting period went smoothly on all three main islands: Rota, Tinian and Saipan.
“Early voting was a success,” she added. “We had 5,960 voters during the early voting period,” which was from Friday, Oct. 29 to Monday, Nov. 4.
The CNMI has 18,401 registered voters, including absentee voters.
It was also an orderly and peaceful Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, according to the CEC.
Ready for the tabulation
Igitol and the election commissioners met at the Multipurpose Center in Susupe Tuesday morning to prepare for the tabulation that was scheduled to start later in the evening at the center.
Igitol reported that on Nov. 3, the U.S. Coast Guard transported CEC’s representative to the Northern Islands.
In the 2022 election, there were 12 voters in the Northern Islands.
“They should be returning [to Saipan] today — I’m not aware of the time, but the arrival is today (Tuesday),” she added.
She also informed the election commissioners that the designated polling centers opened on time.
“That went smoothly as well —there were no delays,” said Igitol, who also visited some of the polling centers.
As for the ballots from Rota and Tinian, Igitol said: “We’re hoping that the ballots will be here around 9 to 9:30 p.m. or 10 p.m. at the latest, because it’s just one plane chartering them. The chartered plane will go over Rota first and then to Tinian to grab the CEC staff and a public auditor official, and the ballots.”
Igitol said she had asked the election commissioners to be at the Multipurpose Center by 6:30 p.m.
On Election Day, the polling centers opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m.
The election commissioners who were present at the meeting on Tuesday morning were Chair Susan Babauta, Vice Chair Jose Kiyoshi, Esther Yatar, John D. Attao, Kurt O. Maratita, Antonio Cabrera and Florence Sablan.
They designated Kiyoshi and Babauta as their spokespersons to provide the media with the latest election results.
Igitol said the commissioners “planned to start tabulation as soon as the polls closed.”
“They will start with the early voting ballots and then the Election Day ballots or the absentee ballots, whichever comes first,” she added.
Igitol also informed the commissioners that CEC staffers would prepare the absentee ballots for their approval or rejection.
“CEC staffers will let you know which pile was accepted and which was not, and you need to sign off on it for approval or rejection,” she told the commissioners.
Curbside voters
In an interview with reporters, Igitol said the only challenge they faced during the early voting period were the people who took advantage of curbside voting.
“They could [have] come in [to vote],” she said. “The people that actually needed it were waiting in line … and [it] was causing [a traffic] congestion,” she added.
Igitol at the same time expressed her appreciation to the government agencies, officials and personnel who helped oversee the election process.
“The Attorney General’s Investigation Division, the Department of Public Safety, the Multipurpose Center staff, [the election] commissioners and staffers, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang — thank you for your support. Without all these agencies involved we wouldn’t have a smooth operation. And I appreciate all of them.”
Grateful
Independent candidate for U.S. delegate James Rayphand, in a separate interview, said he is grateful for receiving “a surprisingly good amount of support for such a small campaign.”
He and some of his supporters voted on Saturday.
“I am thankful to everybody that supported everybody that ran. You know, I think we’ve got to be grateful to all the candidates for stepping up. So, whoever wins, we plan to support them,” he added.
As for the election process, Rayphand said, “I think it was a pretty easy process … and … there was a lot of love and friendly good vibes all around. Everything looks fine to me. I can’t imagine what we have to worry about.”
In 2018, Rayphand ran for a Saipan seat on the non-partisan Board of Education and received a total of 4,988 votes. He was bested by Andrew Orsini who received 5,222 votes.
“This is the first seat I’ve stepped up politically,” Rayphand said, referring to the delegate race.
“Whatever support we get, that’s good enough for me. But honestly, I’ll be glad to put the campaign aside and get to work. I’m really excited about the work of the delegate, you know. The campaigning, it’s not my thing, I really don’t know how to …. You guys may have noticed this. I’ve been kind of a quiet campaigner,” he added.
He said he decided to run for delegate because he “didn’t feel like the other candidates were representative of me. They’re all fine and good people in their own right. They just don’t represent me. I’m different. I approach issues differently. I also think I’ve had different experiences. I just didn’t feel like they represented me and I’m thinking there’s a lot more people like me who maybe feel the same. I want to make it clear I don’t want to disparage any of the other candidates. I’ve tried to make this clear all along. It has been a friendly campaign. I just feel like I bring a different perspective, different experience.”
The other delegate candidates are House Floor Leader Edwin Propst (Democrat), former Commonwealth Ports Authority Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds (Republican), freelance consultant and grants writer John Oliver Gonzales (Independent) and Chamorro activist Liana S. Hofschneider (Independent).
Election System & Software executive Willie Wesley Jr. explains how the tabulation machine works as Commonwealth Election Commission staff listen at the multi-purpose center on Tuesday. The machine can read 100 ballots per minute.
Commonwealth Election Commission board members meet Tuesday morning at the multi-purpose center. Also in photo are CEC Executive Director Kayla Igitol and their legal counsel, Assistant Attorney General J. Robert Glass Jr.
Precinct 1 House Republican candidates Roy Ada and Benusto Piteg pose with their supporters in Dandan.
Precinct 1 Independent Rep. Vince Aldan waves to passing motorists on Election Day in Dandan.
Independent U.S. delegate candidate James Rayphand and his supporters in Koblerville.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios shakes hands with a voter at Garapan Elementary School after the governor and his wife, Wella, cast their ballots on Tuesday morning.
Republican delegate candidate Kimberlyn King-Hinds with supporters in Koblerville on Tuesday morning.
Independent Precinct 1 candidate of the House Raymond Palacios with supporters in Koblerville.
Speaker Edmund Villagomez of Precinct 3 gives a thumbs up on Tuesday morning on Beach Road in Garapan.
Independent delegate candidate John Oliver Gonzales voted on Election Day at Garapan Elementary School.
Precinct 1 House Republican candidates Roy Ada and Benusto Piteg pose with their supporters in Dandan.
