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Election panel reinstates names on voters’ list
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Posted on Feb 25 2009
The Commonwealth Election Commission has reversed the notice it sent to “failed” voters early this month after the agency determined that the last election in November 2008 was not a general poll and cannot be used as a basis to eliminate individual names on the voters’ list.
Acting executive director Julita A. Villagomez disclosed this on Tuesday, saying this was the recommendation of the agency’s legal counsel after carefully reviewing the statute.
Last Feb. 4, the commission sent letters to 2,701 individuals, informing them that their failure to participate in the last election makes them “failed” voters and that they need to re-register for their ballots to be counted in the upcoming general election.
The “failed” voters included both absentee voters who did not participate in last year’s poll and those who were on-island but opted not to join the elections.
Villagomez on Tuesday disclosed that a second notice was sent this week reversing the first notice.
“The Nov. 4, 2008 federal general/local special election was not considered a general election, so we would need to reinstate your name on the list of registered voters to have you eligible to vote in the upcoming Nov. 7, 2009, general election,” the second notice stated.
According to statute, the commission shall remove the name of a registered voter from the register in the following cases: If the person did not vote in a preceding general election. General election is defined as an election held throughout the Commonwealth every two years on the first Saturday in November.
The “reverse” notice also indicated that if a person already re-registered to vote for the Nov. 7, 2009, general election, that will not interfere with their voter registration status.
The agency apologized for the inconvenience caused by its first notice.
The commission earlier said it is expecting a high turnout of about 80 percent this general election.
As of September 2008, the number of registered voters in the CNMI was 12,947. The number may go up to 15,000, as indicated by the 2005 poll.
