Guam: Governor Calvo signs voter bills into law | Pacific Daily News

Gov. Eddie Calvo enacted several bills into law yesterday including legislation updates, prison contraband regulations and reforms to Guam’s voter registration laws. … In her first act as an island lawmaker, freshman Sen. Mary Camacho Torres, R-Santa Rita, authored three voter registration reform bills aimed at modernizing and streamlining the process. Two of the measures — Bills 23 and 24 — were deliberated and passed during the March session, but she agreed to send Bill 25 back to committee. “We’ve seen that democracy is so dependent on participation,” Torres said. “There’s a steady decline of participation in the voting process, we felt incumbent to do something to enable people to have better access to online voter registration.”

Guam: Only electors have a vote for the president | Pacific Daily News

Due to a recent episode of John Oliver’s political satire HBO series “Last Week Tonight,” there has been renewed discussion about how the American president is elected. The episode’s premise, a premise supported by many on Guam, is that U.S. territories are not equal to the U.S. mainland because U.S. citizens in the territories are denied the right to vote for president. That premise is completely wrong and needs to be corrected. When it comes to voting for president, Guam is very much equal to the U.S. mainland in that even citizens on the mainland do not have the right to vote for the president. The U.S. Constitution has never given the people at large the right to vote for president. The only people in the U.S. who possess the constitutional right to vote for president are the people chosen to be electors (see the U.S. Constitution, Article II, section 1, clause 2, and the 12th Amendment ratified in 1804).

Guam: Election Commission researching online voter registration | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Election Commission has continued to research programs suitable for the implementation of an online voter registration portal. That task began prior to the passage of two registration reform bills, which now await the governor’s approval. GEC Executive Director Maria Pangelinan said the commission has been researching programs since January when freshman Sen. Mary Camacho Torres, R-Santa Rita, introduced measures aimed at modernizing and streamlining Guam’s voter registration process.

Guam: Maturity of Guam electorate questioned | Pacific Daily News

Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo’s effort to reduce residency requirements for Guam’s governor, lieutenant governor, senators and mayors through an Organic Act Amendment is troublesome and gives rise as to its motivation. Residency provides confidence that aspiring candidates have good knowledge and understanding of the history of current community issues. This lack of knowledge and current connection, with the Guam community, was a Bordallo campaign issue when challenged by Karlo Dizon and Margaret Metcalf.

Guam: Voter registration bill to ‘modernize’ process | Pacific Daily News

After a full day of discussion yesterday, lawmakers placed one of three bills aimed at reforming Guam’s voter registration laws into the voting file. Freshman Sen. Mary Camacho Torres’ measure, Bill 23-33, proposes implementing a voter registration portal on the Guam Election Commission’s website, giving island residents another means to register. The Republican senator from Santa Rita said it’s important for Guam to keep up with evolving technology. “The bill is intended to modernize Guam’s voter registration, … this whole idea of modernizing is really the wave of today and tomorrow,” Torres said.  Torres stressed that if the bill is passed, the option for residents who want to register in person with a registrar will still exist.

Guam: 50 years after Selma, Guam and territories denied voting rights | Pacific Daily News

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” marches in Selma, Alabama, a time that fundamentally transformed the fight for civil rights in America. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, hundreds of extraordinary people were brutally attacked by Alabama state troopers as they marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest racial discrimination in voting. The events of “Bloody Sunday,” as it became known, led Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — one of the greatest pieces of civil rights legislation ever passed. But Selma’s promise remains unfulfilled for all Americans. U.S. citizens in Guam and the other territories still can’t vote for president. We have no representative in the Senate. Our representative in the house can’t vote.

Guam: Trio of bills promote online voter registration | KUAM

In the last general election, only 71% of the voting electorate cast their vote – the lowest percentage for any gubernatorial election in Guam’s history. However, a trio of bills before the Guam Legislature is hoping to change that. Freshman senator Mary Torres hit the ground running introducing not one, but a trio of measures upon her first month in office. “I’ve introduced three bills to modernize and streamline voter registration on Guam,” she explained. Among the trio of measures include Bill 23 allowing for online registration. “And studies have shown that it saves tax payers dollars, it increases the accuracy of voter rolls, and it provides a convenience option for citizens who wish to register to vote,” she added.

Guam: Voter registration bills to be heard | Pacific Daily News

Sen. Mary Camacho Torres, R-Santa Rita, is leading a charge to increase voter turnout among island residents with multiple pieces of legislation aimed at amending voter registration laws. Last month, Torres introduced Bills 23-32, 24-32 and 25-32 to the Legislature with a public hearing scheduled for tomorrow morning. “What I’m trying to do is essentially facilitate the registration process,” Torres said.

Guam: Territories’ voting rights lawsuit to be filed | Pacific Daily News

A national civil rights group is preparing a lawsuit against the federal government in an effort to grant the millions of citizens living in U.S. territories the right to vote in presidential elections. We the People Project, a nonprofit organization advocating for equal voting and citizenship rights for U.S. territories, is developing its case and could file the lawsuit within the next few months. “At this point we have a legal team together; we’re looking to identify people interested in identifying with the case,” said WPP President Neil Weare, a civil rights attorney. “Once we’re able to identify the plaintiffs we’ll proceed to file the case over the next few months.”

Guam: More bad ballots found | Pacific Daily News

Republican and Democratic Party representatives, working with the Guam Election Commission, yesterday, found two more improperly printed ballots during their ongoing review of the ballots from Saturday’s Primary Election. The ballots are supposed to be double-sided, with Republican candidates on one side and Democratic candidates on the other. Voters in the open primary were allowed to choose either the Republican or Democratic side, but nearly two dozens ballots were missing one side. Democratic Party officials have said the Democratic sides are missing, but Election Commission officials have declined to identify which sides are missing.

Guam: Election board scrutinizes ballot printing process, other poll issues | Marianas Variety

Members of the Guam Election Commission spent nearly two hours yesterday scrutinizing the issues surrounding Saturday’s primary election, one of which was the discovery of misprinted ballots for the partisan election. The misprinted ballots were described as one-sided ballots on which voters could only choose candidates from one particular party. The other side of the misprinted ballots was blank. Correctly printed ballots were to have candidates of the Democratic Party on one side and Republican candidates on the other side. Voters were to vote only for candidates from one party. Joseph Mesa, GEC chairman, yesterday questioned the person in charge of printing the ballots in order to shed light on the issue. Program coordinator Joseph Eseke said that in producing the partisan ballots, the document ran four times in the printers. In setting up the printers, it was revealed that plates sometimes moved affecting the output. Eseke also mentioned the “sensitivity” of the printers in some elements in the ballot document such as the lines and ovals. He said GEC used one printer for the color and one printer for the text, which was black.

Guam: Plebiscite appeal heard: 9th Circuit judges take on political status vote | Pacific Daily News

The Office of the Attorney General yesterday defended Guam’s Decolonization Registry against claims that it discriminates along racial lines. A panel of three judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit yesterday heard arguments in that case and two other cases during a special hearing at the U.S. District Court of Guam in Hagåtña. It was the first time since 2002 that a panel of judges from the appellate court heard arguments here. The court has jurisdiction over federal courts in nine states, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. Among the cases judges heard yesterday was Davis v. Guam, which challenges the constitutionality of the Guam Decolonization Registry.

Guam: Election Commission receives new voting tabulators | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Election Commission has new voting tabulators and is gearing up for the Aug. 30 Primary Election. GEC Executive Director Maria Pangelinan said the three tabulators arrived Aug. 1 and the staff started training on Monday. The Legislature in June appropriated $134,250 to buy a new ballot tabulation system and $48,500 for ballot stock and coding services. The four tabulators the election commission had were old and outdated and caused some problems during the last election in 2012.

Guam: Senators discuss funding for election tabulators | KUAM

Lawmakers went into back to back sessions today to discuss a pair of bills – the first of which would address funding to purchase new tabulation equipment for the Guam Election Commission. “Si yu’os ma’ase to all of them for their support,” said Guam Election Commission executive director Maria Pangelinan. She refers to swift action by lawmakers today on addressing funding for new tabulation machines. It was last week when Bill 334 lapsed into law appropriating $206,000 from the Supplemental Appropriation Revenue Fund for the purchase of the machines along with ballot stock and coding services. However BBMR recently informed her that there is actually no funding in the SAR account. “So because of that, the only option they would have is to see about using fiscal year funding that was brought up to the attention of the commissioners and we all know that the commissioners and I don’t want to have a deficit at the end of the fiscal year,” she said.

Guam: Equality: No matter where they live, all citizens should have vote for president | Pacific Daily News

Today is Independence Day, when we mark the decision of the Founding Fathers to break away from a tyrannical monarchy and establish our representative democracy. The hallmark of our form of government is that it is of, for and by the people. We, the people, decide who will lead us in government, including who will serve us as president — unless you are a U.S. citizen who’s a resident of Guam or one of the other territories. Then you have no vote, and thus no voice, in who will lead the country. A new federal lawsuit being developed by the We the People Project, a nonprofit that fights for the day residents of Guam and other U.S. territories, aims to change that.

Guam: Presidential vote issue may be brought to federal court | Pacific Daily News

Whether residents of Guam should be able to vote for President may be brought up in federal court. We the People Project, a nonprofit organization that aims to fight for the rights of residents in Guam and other U.S. territories, is hoping to file a federal lawsuit on the issue by fall, according to a press release. “It’s simple — the right to vote for president should not depend on where you live,” Neil Weare, president and founder of the project, said in the release “That’s not how democracy is supposed to work. Guam’s sons and daughters proudly serve in uniform to defend democracy overseas; they should have the right to fully participate in democracy at home.”

Guam: Bill would fund new vote tabulators: GEC director expects machines in July or August | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Election Commission could soon get new tabulators if a recently passed bill becomes law. Bill 334, passed by the Legislature on Monday, appropriates $134,250 to buy a ballot tabulation system and $48,500 for ballot stock and coding services for the Guam Election Commission. Guam Election Commission Executive Director Maria Pangelinan said she hopes the commission will have new voting tabulator machines by the primary election on Aug. 30.

Guam: Center ensures accessible voting: Voters with disabilities are encouraged to vote | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Legal Services Corporation-Disability Law Center has a vested interest in accessible voting. Our office works to ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to polls and cast private and independent ballots. The right to vote is an important issue for all citizens because it is our way of guaranteeing that the government hears our voices and provides for the needs of all individuals. This was the movement behind the American with Disabilities Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act, and the Help America Vote Act.

Guam: Election Commission will get new tabulators for election | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Election Commission is getting new tabulators in preparation for the upcoming General Election. During a meeting on Thursday, commissioners voted to approve the GEC’s Invitation for Bid committee’s recommendation to award a bid for new machines to Election Systems & Software for new voting tabulators. The company was the lowest bidder out of the three that submitted bids, said Maria Pangelinan, election commission executive director. The other bidders were Hart InterCivic and Dominion Voting Systems. Election Systems & Software offered three central voting tabulators at a price of $134,250, Pangelinan said.

Guam: 3 bids filed for election tabulators | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Election Commission has received three bids for voting tabulators and the commission’s evaluation committee can begin reviewing the submissions. GEC Executive Director Maria Pangelinan gave commissioners an update on the machines at their meeting Thursday night. Pangelinan said she couldn’t give specifics about the bids or say which companies put in submissions. The four tabulators the GEC has now are old and outdated and caused some problems during the last election in 2012. The four tabulators are based on technology from the 1980s, according to Pacific Daily News files.

Guam: Election Commission Expects New Central Tabulators Just in Time for This Year’s Election | Pacific News Center

Today was the bid deadline on the Guam Election Commission’s RFP for vote tabulators. GEC Executive Director Maria Pangelinan says a number of bids were received from a variety of companies. She could not say how many or who submitted the bids. Nor could she say how many tabulators will be purchased, since all that depends on the capabilities of the machines being offered, and their cost. And they won’t know that until the bids are opened and examined in the week ahead. Pangelinan said the staff  will start evaluating the bids Monday, and she expects a recommended bidder will be presented to the Election Commission at their next meeting on Thursday, March 20th.

Guam: Election Commission puts out bid for new vote tabulators | Pacific Daily News

The Guam Election Commission wants to have new voting tabulators for this year’s elections and now is one step closer to that goal. The commission released an invitation for bids on Feb. 19 for a central count voting system with software and professional services, according to the bid documents. The bids are due by March 14, said Maria Pangelinan, the commission executive director. That’s a system capable of counting voting results from multiple precincts at a single location. During the 2012 General Election, the GEC had problems with at least three of its four tabulators.

Guam: Fighting for Democracy, But Can’t Vote for President | Huffington Post

President Obama said in his 2013 State of the Union Address that “we are betraying our ideals” when any American is denied the right to vote because of where they live. This month, as President Obama prepares once again to address the nation, nearly 600 soldiers from Guam are returning home after a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan. While these patriotic Americans answered the call to defend democracy overseas, they are denied democracy at home. When the 2016 General Election rolls around, they will be unable to vote for President and will only elect a non-voting Delegate to Congress. During their first month of deployment in Afghanistan, two Guam soldiers, Spc. Dwayne Flores, 22, and Sgt. Eugene Aguon, 23, were killed by a car bomb. According to statistics from the Washington Post’s “Faces of the Fallen,” Guam’s casualty rates in Iraq and Afghanistan have been 450 percent above the national average. Perhaps that is because Guam ranks higher than any state in per capita recruitment rates. Fully 1 in 20 Guam residents are military veterans according to the U.S. Census. During World War II, Guam endured a brutal enemy occupation that resulted in over a thousand civilian deaths. Today, Guam’s location on the doorstep to Asia contributes to national security, but also places its residents uncomfortably close to North Korea and other threats.

Guam: Election commission seeks new vote tabulators | Pacific Daily News

Next election could run faster and smoother if the Guam Election Commission can purchase new tabulators. During last year’s General Election, the GEC had problems with at least three of its four tabulators. Those problems drew attention to the age of the machines, and the GEC has since looked at whether it would be feasible to keep using them, Director Maria Pangelinan said. The four tabulators are based on technology from the 1980s, according to Pacific Sunday News files. And Pangelinan estimates the machines are at least 20 years old and have been well-used throughout those years. Pangelinan said correspondence with the vendor found that repairing the machines would cost about $35,000 each. She said the election commission decided that it would be too costly to repair the old machines. As a result, the commission is requesting information to purchase new tabulator machines.

Guam: $70,000 To Fix Two Tabulators; FY 2014 Budget Now Unknown | Pacific News Center

The Guam Election Commission (GEC) does not know how much it will be getting in the upcoming fiscal year. Executive Director Maria Pangelinan says in the first substitute budget bill, over $900,000 was budgeted for GEC. However, in the current version of the recently passed Bill 38, GEC was lumped into the Executive Branch’s budget. She notes their appropriation was lumped together before in previous budgets. However, no line item has identified what GEC would receive this time around. Pangelinan says this is a problem as they prepare for the 2014 gubernatorial election. She also explains the money to fix two of their tabulators is not factored in yet because they just received the notice today [Wednesday] about the overall costs.

Guam: Judge dismisses disabilities case against Guam Election Commission | Pacific Daily News

A lawsuit against the Guam Election Commission alleging it violated several local laws was dismissed in the Superior Court of Guam on Monday. Former Democratic Party Executive Director Carlo Branch in January 2011 sued the Election Commission, saying it had violated Guam open government laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case went before Judge Arthur Barcinas in November last year and the decision to dismiss the case was made on April 22.

Guam: Election Commission presents findings of precinct handcount | KUAM.com

After five weeks of handcounting ballots from the 2010 general election, the Guam Election Commission presented its findings to commissioners that had some speculating a change in the results, not in the gubernatorial race, but for the Legislature. It took a little over one month to handcount five precincts from the 2010 general election and during its GEC meeting Wednesday night, executive director Maria Pangelinan reported the results. “The difference of the gubernatorial race was minimal,” she said. Of the hand count summary of the five precincts, results showed Gutierrez-Aguon receiving five less votes from the certified results, whereas Calvo-Tenorio received two additional votes. “Between a handcount and machine tabulation there are bound to be differences,” Pangelinan said.

Guam: Election Commission begins recount of 2010 general election | KUAM

It’s the start of what’s set to take a few weeks, but the Guam Election Commission started the official recount of over 11,000 ballots as part of the audit of the 2010 general election. Sealed away for over two years, the GEC officially began the handcount of an estimated thousands of ballots as part of the audit of the 2010 general election. “So we will count one precinct at a time so today at 9:30am we started with precinct 10 from Yona,” noted executive director Maria Pangelinan. As part of the election reform mandate to conduct an audit of the 2010 general election, the commission decided to handcount a small sample of ballots from 5 different precincts – Precinct 10 in Yona, 14 from Mongmong-Toto-Maite, 15b and 15c from Barrigada, and 19b from Yigo.

Guam: $74K debt to ES&S holds up ballots: Election commission seeks supplemental funding | Pacific Daily News

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.

Guam: Election Commission Running Short of Cash at It Prepares for Election | Pacific News Center

Guam Election Commission Executive Director Maria Pangelinan says the GEC is struggling to make ends meet as they prepare for the upcoming primary and general elections. Pangelinan told the Rotary Club of Guam Monday that the GEC is “barely functioning” with a budget of only $850 thousand dollars. That is less than previous years, she said. Pangelinan also spoke about the Commission’s efforts to increase voter participation this year and to encourage more people to enroll in the Decolonization registry.