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Voter turnout for special election ‘as expected’
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Posted on Oct 19 2021
A total of 2,025 voters, or 58% of Precinct 3’s registered number of voters, participated in the special election to fill a Precinct 3 House seat that was vacated following the sudden passing of Rep. Ivan Alafanso Blanco (R-Saipan).
This turnout was actually not surprising. Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Kayla S. Igitol said in an interview last Saturday that she expected a voter turnout of around 60%.
“Voter turnout was 58%. …I did expect that, and I was going to be surprised if it was over 60%,” she said.
Voter turnout in CNMI elections are typically high only during general elections, when voters choose a whole raft from officials, notably the delegate, governor, lawmakers, and mayors. The voter turnout numbers typically drop during midterm and special elections.
When asked for possible reasons why voter turnout for this special election was relatively low, Igitol surmised that some voters in Precinct 3 may have simply chosen to not vote in the special election, and added that the special election does not count against registered voters’ status if they failed to vote, whereas failure to vote in a general election will affect an individual’s voter registration status.
Vying for a seat in Saturday’s election was Corina L. Magofna of the NMI Democratic Party and Grace “Pitu” Sablan Vaiagae of the NMI Republican Party. Magofna won 1,217-808.
The CEC tabulated and certified the election results last Saturday night at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.
Igitoil said the tabulation and the special election as a whole went smoothly. She lauded the CEC team, the voters, and the candidates for ensuring that the election process ran as intended. “It was a smooth election, we didn’t have any major issues. Voters were cooperative, candidates as well, and I have a great team behind me,” she added.
Tabulation began between 7:20 and 7:30pm last Saturday and that was completed at 9:35pm. Around an hour later, the CEC certified the special election results.
