Over 1,000 fewer voters in runoff

The runoff election to determine the CNMI’s next governor and lieutenant governor saw an over 88% turnout compared to the turnout just 16 days earlier during the 2022 general election, with over 1,000 fewer voters casting their votes.

According to the Commonwealth Election Commission website, roughly 13,094 votes were cast in the runoff election, not including the rest of the absentee votes expected to arrive on Dec. 9.

However, during the general elections held last Nov. 8, 2022, a total of 14,750 votes were cast. This means roughly 88.7% of those who came out to vote during the general election came to vote in the runoff election That is about 1,656 fewer voters.

According to CEC executive director Kayla Igitol, the overall turnout for the runoff election was good.

“The voter turnout was pretty good—nearly same as the general election. We had a lot of voters come out and voting,” she said.

However, compared to the number of registered voters in the CNMI, the runoff election saw only a 67.9% turnout while the general election saw about a 76.5% turnout. The CNMI currently has 19,275 registered voters.

Precinct 5

In related news, hundreds of Precinct 5 voters went to ChaCha Oceanview Middle School to cast their votes and make their voices heard. Roughly 800 Precinct 5 voters came out to cast their votes as of 4pm press time.

According to one voter who requested anonymity, he said he voted in the general election and he voted in the runoff election to ensure that his voice was heard.

“If we want our voice to be heard, we must stand up and fight for it. Coming out to vote in both the general election and the runoff election is my way of fighting for what I believe in because every vote counts. At the end of the day, at least I know that I did my part to fight for the administration I believe in,” he said.

Precinct 4

Precinct 4’s voting area at the Legislature was very laidback, with a consistent number of voters coming in throughout the day, ranging from eight to 23 voters per hour. The largest number of voters for Precinct 4 was at around 8am to 9am, with 23 constituents coming in to cast their votes.

At around 4pm press time, Precinct 4 saw about 150 voters in total.

“Just like the general election, Precinct 4 was very laidback. We didn’t face that many problems and we didn’t have that many complaints,” said Precinct 4 poll worker Malia Johnson.