With elections in the Virgin Islands constitutionally due next year, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections is notifying the public that voter registration is ongoing and eligible persons must register to vote by September 5 to be included on the 2022 Preliminary Voters’ List.
The Supervisor of Elections, Scherrie Griffin said a person must be a Belonger as per section 2 of the Virgin Islands Constitution, 18 years of age or older, and domiciled and resident in the Virgin Islands, or domiciled in the Virgin Islands and resident in the United States Virgin Islands to be qualified to register.
Griffin also said documents to be presented when registering include a Virgin Islands Passport with an embossed seal, and a Belonger’s Card or a Belonger’s Certificate. A Naturalisation Certificate can also be used, providing the certificate is dated before June 15, 2007.
Further, section 17(1) of the Elections (Amendment) Act No. 14 of 2011 states that: “A registered voter who is ordinarily resident in the territory and who moves his place of residence from within one local electoral district or polling division to another, may have his name transferred to the list of voters for the local electoral district or polling division to which he has moved, if he applies … and establishes, to the satisfaction of the Supervisor of Elections, proof of residence within the local electoral district or polling division to which he/she has moved.”
Residents who have moved their place of residence and wish to transfer are encouraged to apply for a transfer.
Griffin added that documents to support a transfer can be in the form of cable, water, electricity or telephone bills, a rent receipt, lease agreement or a notarised document stating the new address.
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Voting is a civic duty; it is the fulcrum on which democracy rests/turns and what makes it work. Voting matters and every single vote matters and count but voting has not always been a default right for Virgin Islanders. Virgin Islanders got adult suffrage in 1954, resulting from the Great March of 24 November 1949. Many electorates often say they are not voting because nothing will change and politicians will do whatever they want and for whom they want. But the truth is that true power rests with the electorate, the voters, the people. Why vote?
Voters go to polls on Election Day to vote to send 13 elected members(9 District Reps, 4 At Large) to the HOA. The HOA is the legislative arm that performs the important function of voting on legislation(s) to govern the territory. The VI is at a crossroad, facing many crises, and this election is one of the most crucial and critical in a generation. The next government will have the monumental task of charting a new course forward for the territor.
Moreover, the electorate play a critical and important role in whom comprise the next HOA, both government and opposition. The opposition play a vital role in attaining good governance. The electorate task is important and urgent so it must do its homework and vote smartly and wisely. However, the electorate role entails more than merely voting on Election Day. Additionally, it must get actively engaged in the political campaign, asking and getting answers to the right, relevant, and reasonable questions, as well as staying actively civically engaged post election. The electorate must use it true power to effectively hold government’s feet to the fire. Unused power is like a dog chasing and catching up with a car. Every eligible Virgin Islander must register to vote and vote during early voting and on Election Day. Get on the rolls for the polls.
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