CEC to mail 1,563 absentee ballots
The Commonwealth Election Commission staff completed early yesterday morning packaging the 1,564 absentee ballots shortly after 21,400 ballots came in.
CEC is expected to mail the absentee ballots either today, Thursday, or on Friday, according to CEC administrative officer Kayla S. Igitol.
The Office of the Public Auditor has to examine the ballots before mailing them out.
Of 1,564 absentee ballots, one such voter picked up the ballot at CEC yesterday, Saipan Tribune learned.
Of 1,564 absentee voters, CEC has found 85 of them to be “nonresident voters” or “dual voters.”
CEC, however, is still going to send ballots to those 85 because they don’t want to take away their right to vote.
A CEC administrative officer will conduct a voter removal hearings and voter challenges.
After the ballots arrived at the CEC office in Susupe Tuesday at 11:30am, CEC later conducted an inventory of the ballots.
CEC staff led by executive director Julita A. Villagomez then processed the absentee ballots until 2:30am yesterday.
There are 17,936 registered ballots. CEC paid $27,000 to the Election Systems and Software from Nebraska for the cost of printing the ballots, site support, ballot layout, and ballot coding.
Yes, purge the absentee ballots who had not set foot on the CNMI and were given the opportunity to vote in the CNMI. Also, some had committed felony on other jurisdiction and continues to vote in the CNMI.