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BOE ready for Tinian special election
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Posted on Dec 29 1999
The Board of Election is all set for the holding of the special election on the island municipality of Tinian on Jan. 22, 2000 amid fears that its system might break down as a result of the so-called millennium bug, its executive director assured yesterday.
The elections board yesterday mailed out absentee ballots for 27 registered off-island voters, according to BOE chief Greg Sablan. He said all the ballots had been printed.
“Everything is in place. We are just waiting for the election,” he told a telephone interview. “So far we don’t have any problems.”
An election briefing will be held on Jan. 21, 2000, the eve of the special polls, he added.
Mr. Sablan said BOE is trying to implement safeguards in order to protect the list of voters in case of a potential computer breakdown. He explained that on Dec. 30, government experts will be preparing hard copies of the lists in order to ensure that the names of registered voters in the Northern Marianas are protected.
The Tinian seat was declared vacant recently by the Senate after Sen. Herman Manglona resigned from the Legislature Sept. 14, a day after pleading guilty to the charges filed against him in connection with federal projects he administered while still a mayor of Tinian.
This is the first time that an elected official has resigned from his position and the Senate had apparently different views on how to deal with the situation.
The winner in the special polls will be sworn in immediately to serve the remainder of Mr. Manglona’s term. The former senator was elected in 1997 for a four-year term, which means that the new senator has less than two years to complete the mandate.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sablan Sablan said that all candidates in the recent mid-election elections had filed their campaign contribution and that only two need to refile their statements.
“This is just minor. We just want these candidates to file a more detailed statement,” he said, “But all of them have complied with the deadline,” he added.
