Poll commission cites inaccurate registrations

The Commonwealth Election Commission received a handful of affidavits of registrations that were partly inaccurate or did not include documents providing evidence of U.S. citizenship or national status.

As an example, some of the inaccuracies were those where the registrants, under the headings for village and islands, instead placed the locations where the registrant is residing when the affidavit was completed rather then the village and/or island where they reside in the Northern Mariana Islands.

The commission cannot register individuals for Yigo, Guam or for Vancouver, Washington because the commission can only register voters for commonwealth elections and not for elections for the State of Washington or for the Territory of Guam.

Besides documents that provide proofs of U.S. citizenship or national status, the need for other documents, for example, are for those who are trying to register under their married names but provide documents under their maiden names.

The commission has exerted considerable effort and resources and has contacted all those registrants whose affidavits of registrations are pending. Each of the registrant has been contacted either by telephone calls, letters or by electronic mail. Each individual has been asked to submit corrected affidavit of registration or to submit the necessary documents.

The commission is informing the general public, and those registrants whose affidavit of registrations are pending in particular, that the commission will cancel all these registrations by Oct. 5, 2005 and these affidavit of registrations will be disapproved and the registrants will be denied voter eligibility for the Nov. 5, 2005 General Election.

The commission must complete its review of all registrations and the commissioners must approve the roster of qualified voters for the Nov. 5, 2005 General Election.

It is therefore absolutely necessary that all pending affidavit of registrations deficiencies must be corrected by Oct. 5, 2005 or the affidavit of registrations must be rejected and disapproved.

Anyone requiring more information on this or any other election matter may contact the commission at 664-VOTE or by email to info@votecnmi.gov.mp or cec@saipan.com. (PR)