Drawing of candidates’ position on ballot set

The drawing for candidate’s positions on the general election ballot for the Nov. 5, 2005 general election will be conducted after the Election Commission has certified the candidates.

This will either be on either Aug. 9 or Aug. 10, 2005, according to Election Commission executive director Gregorio Sablan, who said that this is being done so that the commission can publish and distribute specimen ballots for this year’s election as early as possible.

The drawings will be held at the Election Commission’s office at 1313 Anatahan Drive, Capitol Hill, Saipan. There will be no drawing held on any of the northern islands, Rota or Tinian, he said.

Candidates are being notified that they must either be present at the drawing, or they must, in writing, appoint someone to represent them at the drawing. In any event, the executive director plans to hold the drawings at the time and date announced and drawings will be conducted only at the Commission’s Capitol Hill Office.

A candidate may, in writing, appoint a representative to draw on the candidate’s behalf. The representative’s appointment must be in writing, and any representative must have this written appointment prior to or at the time of the drawing scheduled by the executive director.

Paragraph 2 of Section 5.2 of the Election Commission’s Regulations reads:

Prior to the final publication of the ballot the candidate locations (position or row) on the ballot for the various offices shall be designated by a number corresponding to their location (position or row). On a date designated by the executive director, the candidates (or the representatives) will select random numbers (corresponding to those ballot location numbers) out of a paper bag or hat in such a manner that the person choosing the number has no way of knowing which number they are choosing.

The executive director shall conduct these drawings.

The drawing will be for the individual candidate locations (position or row) on the ballot where there are multiple (at least two) candidates for a particular race of office or offices. Any person can act as a representative of more than one candidate. For instance, the chair of a new or recognized political party may act as the representative for all of their party’s candidates.

Anyone with concerns on this matter is asked to call the commission’s Office at 664-VOTE. Specimen ballots are expected to be available by August 13, 2005.