The Guam Election Commission doesn’t have enough ballot stock for the primary election, and a vendor has cut off the government’s supply because of an outstanding debt. A debt of about $74,000 from the 2008 election is owed to Nebraska-based Election Systems and Software, and the company won’t sell the government of Guam any more ballot stock until the debt is cleared, said Election Commission Executive Director Maria Pangelinan.
During a GEC board meeting last night, commission Chairman Joe Mesa told Pangelinan to prioritize this election problem over all others. She should meet with the governor’s staff today, he said. “We need to order. We can’t order. And we are out of ballot stock. So that creates a severe problem for us,” Mesa said. “We are getting closer and closer to the election … This needs to be resolved yesterday.” This debt nearly interrupted the 2010 election, Mesa said, so the GEC board gave its personal commitment that the debt would be paid. Until last night, the board thought the debt had been paid by a prior GEC director, Mesa said.
Full Article: $74K debt holds up ballots: Election commission seeks supplemental funding | Pacific Daily News | guampdn.com.