Election commissioners manually tabulated votes cast in last year’s historic first congressional election in the Northern Marianas where former CEC Executive Director Gregorio C. Sablan was proclaimed the winner in the nine-way race.
Guerrero told the Variety in an interview yesterday there is nothing wrong with their counting machines and that funding was the issue why they were not used in last year’s election.
“We did not have funding then to order the ballots [that the machines can read and count],” added Jermae R. Cabrera, administrative specialist of CEC.
Ballots during the 2008 delegate election were printed locally.
This year, however, Guerrero and Cabrera confirmed that election funding has been earmarked for CEC’s use to print the ballots overseas.
These ballots will be printed after Aug. 10 when all the candidates for different public offices are already certified by the commissioners.
CEC will start receiving petitions for candidacy starting July 10.
This year, voters will vote for their next governor and lt. governor; 20 House representatives; one senator each for Saipan, Tinian and Rota; Board of Education members; mayors; Municipal Council members, among other public offices up for election.
At least four popular and legislative initiatives will be on the ballot, including one that allows the Open Government Act to be applied to the members of the Legislature sponsored by Saipan Independent Rep. Tina Sablan.
Cabrera said each initiative must be certified by the Attorney General’s Office to be included on the ballot as part of the process.
He added that a public education about the impact of the initiatives must also be held before the actual election date.
“There must be a public education period,” he noted.
Thus far, more than 13,000 voters have registered.
Cabrera said they will continue to register voters until Sept. 18.
Eligible residents can register at the CEC office on Capital Hill from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or at Costco every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“Register that’s your right,” said Cabrera.
Runoff
Cabrera said they expect a runoff election to happen with at least four gubernatorial candidates.
“There’s no way [a team] can get the 50+1 majority votes cast during the election so we anticipate a runoff,” he said.
The House of Representatives passed last week House Bill 16-220 which sets runoff election procedures.
The measure, which is currently pending in the Senate, mandates the CEC to count absentee ballots 14 days after the election results are certified.
The general election is set for Nov. 7. The counting of the ballots will immediately proceed at midnight.
But Cabrera said they don’t know how fast the machines can count all the votes, thus, the 14 days will commence on the day after the partial election results are certified.
“It’s 14 days after the certification of the results,” he said.
The election official said they met with some members of the Legislature to explain their concerns that’s why the bill’s original version was amended.
Still, Cabrera said they are not discounting the possibility that a second runoff may occur until the 50 plus 1 votes cast requirement is met.
“We’re prepared for what’s there under our Constitution,” he said.
Residents ratified in 2007 a legislative initiative amending Article III Section 4 of the Constitution to require a runoff election for governor and lt. governor if no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast.
