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Bill seeks faster count during polls
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Posted on Jul 27 2008
Candidates and voters may find a shorter wait for election results if a Senate-passed measure becomes law.
The Senate on Friday approved legislation allowing the Commonwealth Election Commission to open and count absentee ballots in its possession on election day.
The bill would also provide for a preliminary count of ballots for contests decided by voters in one senatorial district. Under the bill, the “local ballots” on Rota or Tinian may be hand-counted before being shipped to Saipan for any final counting.
In the present system, all ballots are counted electronically on Saipan.
Rota Sen. Paul A. Manglona, sponsor of the bill, said the bill is designed to get the election results, especially on Tinian and Rota, as early as possible. “In previous elections, we had to wait until the morning after the election to find out the results,” he said.
The bill also proposes changes to absentee voting procedures. Under the bill, CNMI voters will no longer have to proffer an excuse to vote by absentee ballot. The bill states the excuse requirement is “outdated and an unnecessary barrier to the exercise of the franchise.”
The measure further proposes to allow absentee ballots in the possession in the Election Commission to be counted on election day. Other absentee ballots postmarked by the date of election and received by the Election Commission within 14 days of the election will still be counted 14 days after the election.
The bill is headed to the House of Representatives for approval.
