Close to 16K so far registered for general polls
With more than three months to go before the deadline to register for this year’s general election, the Commonwealth Election Commission said it already has close to 16,000 registered voters.
Commission records indicate that, as of April 22, there are a total of 15,965 registered voters for the Nov. 4 polls. This is slightly below the 16,108 registered voters in the 2009 general election.
The deadline to register is on Sept. 5, or 60 days before the elections.
Election district 1 has so far 4,336 registered voters. Of this total, 837 are from San Antonio, 2,447 are from San Vicente, and 1,052 are from Koblerville.
Election district 2, which covers Chalan Kanoa and Susupe, has so far a total of 1,340 registered voters.
Election district 3 has 3,169 voters so far. The San Jose and Oleai areas have 830 and Garapan has 2,339 registered voters.
Tanapag and San Roque recorded 594 and 557 voters so far. These two comprise election district 4, which has a total of 1,622.
Election district 5, which covers Kagman, has 2,562 registered voters so far, while Tinian and Rota have 1,327 and 1,604 registered voters, respectively.
During the 2009 general election, CEC had a total of 16,108 registered voters, of which 86 percent actually cast their ballots during election day.
The voters’ statistics is expected to increase in the coming months. Considering that the current total is already nearing 16,000, it is expected that this year’s general polls will yield a higher number of voters and voter turnout.
The following positions are up for grabs in the Nov. 4 election: governor and lieutenant governor; delegate; senators; House representatives; mayors; municipal council members; and Board of Education members. A legislative initiative will also be voted on.
So far, based on CEC records, only House Legislative Initiative 18-1 is guaranteed on the ballot for voters to ratify. HLI 18-1 proposes to change who qualifies as “a person of Northern Marianas descent” under Section 4 of Article 12 of the Northern Mariana Islands Constitution. This governs the law of who can own land in the Commonwealth.
