Bill seeks to extend fed protections to NMI polls

WASHINGTON, D.C.-CNMI Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan introduced yesterday a bill extending the full protection of federal election law to the Northern Marianas.

“The people of the Northern Marianas deserve to have their elections protected by the same laws that safeguard elections and voters everywhere in our nation,” Sablan said. “Voters in the Marianas deserve to be protected from intimidation, threats, or coercion, when they cast their ballots in elections. And voters deserve to know that elections for federal office will not be manipulated by public officials.”

Sablan’s bill has 12 original co-sponsors, including all of the non-state area representatives. In addition to the Northern Marianas, the bill also amends certain provisions of federal election law to cover American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Among the six amendments to federal law in the bill is inclusion of the Northern Marianas in the ban against aliens voting. A fine and imprisonment up to one year are the penalties for violating this law.

Sablan’s measure also makes sure that persons employed in government offices are barred from using their official authority to interfere with the nomination or election process for any federal position. The penalty for violation is a fine or up to one year in prison.

The Northern Marianas is the only non-state area not covered by the prohibitions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that penalize voting more than once in an election. Sablan’s bill fixes that and also amends the Voting Rights Act to make the use of false information to vote or to register to vote a violation of the law.

“Voters deserve to have confidence their vote will not be watered down by repeat voters or by persons who got on to the voter rolls or into the voting booth by misrepresenting who they are,” Sablan explained.

Voting Rights Act violations carry a fine of up to $10,000 and prison terms of up to five years.

Sablan’s bill also clarifies that the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 applies in the Northern Marianas. At present the law only applies to “a territory or possession of the United States.” Sablan’s bill explicitly states that this law applies to the “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”

The Federal Election Campaign Act regulates fundraising and how campaigns for federal office are paid for. (PR)