NMI voters to ‘choose’ president tomorrow
Northern Marianas voters will choose their president in a mock election tomorrow, three days ahead of the actual polls in the United States.
Anyone who is eligible to vote for the CNMI governor and has been registered to vote on or before Sept. 12 can vote in the mock elections. Commonwealth election law requires voters to be registered at least 45 days before an election.
The mock polls, organized by Northern Marianas College students as part of their political science course under instructor Samuel McPhetres, will be held in the Joeten Kiyu Public Library conference room on Oct. 30, from 8am to 7pm.
Voters should bring their voter ID card or a photo ID card, which will be checked against the official registration list.
Tabulation will take place immediately after the voting is closed, organizers said. Ballots from absentee voters will be counted at the same time as the ballots cast on Saipan.
Other interested U.S. citizens who are non-registered voters may also participate in the mock polls. A separate box will be set up outside of the official balloting area and a separate ballot will be available to them.
Further, their ballots will not be counted as part of the official total results, but will be used for informational purposes.
“Our core objective is to provide an opportunity for the people of the CNMI to voice their opinions about whom they think should be the president of the United States,” Leslie Cabrera, one of the organizers, said in an earlier interview.
She added, “One of the reasons we feel it important to reach our objective is the fact that the CNMI puts out a disproportionate number of voluntarily enlisted military men and women. We have one of the highest per capita rates of voluntary enlistment compared [with] all other territories and states. The outcome of who is elected to be commander in chief is certainly a concern for all of our enlisted.”
