Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Chief Election Officer Dr. Lealaofi Uiagalelei, is reminding all registered electors in the 2018 mid-term election tomorrow Nov. 6th to “exercise your right by voting. It’s your voice. Go Vote.”

Election Office personnel worked over the weekend, as well as today and into the early hours tomorrow morning preparing for the mid term election where more than 800 votes have been cast in early voting — through local and off island absentee ballots.

The more than 30 polling stations territory-wide will be open for 12 hours, starting at 6a.m.

Election officials for Tutuila will head out early tomorrow morning with ballot boxes escorted by police to their respective polling station, to arrive before 5:30a.m.

One official from the Election Office leaves today to deliver the ballot boxes/supplies to Manu'a. “We've already trained the people staying in Manu'a to conduct the election. An official from our office flew to Manu'a on October 25 and trained them,” Election officials said over the weekend.

Electors will cast ballots for the Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives; the 20-elected members of the local House, and the veto override referendum. And election officials hope for a big turn out tomorrow, with 15,542 electors registered on the 2018 voter roll.

“Polling stations are all identified and prepared for voters to cast their vote,” Uiagalelei told Samoa News last Friday.

Voters are reminded that there is only one ballot covering the two political races and the referendum issue.

The Election Office as well as the Governor’s Office have called for a peaceful election in American Samoa. The Election Office, as in past election years, will be working closely with the Department of Public to ensure a safe and peaceful election day.

Manu’a polling stations are expected to close early, or as soon as all registered voters cast their ballots and this is expected to occur between 2-3 p.m.  The ballot counting process then gets underway with the results called into the Election Office while the election officials return back to Tutuila with the ballots boxes.

As in past election years, poll watchers for candidates will probably call up others to relay to them the results.

On Tutuila, once the polls are closed, election officials at the various polling places will then begin the process of counting the ballots at their respective stations. The results are then called into the Election Office and election officials make their way back to the Election Office.

Uiagalelei tells Samoa News that election results will be broadcast live from the Election Office on KVZK-TV once the polls are closed and continue throughout the evening when results start coming in. The results will also at the same time be distributed to other news media outlets in the territory.

Besides village pulenu’u, police will also be present at polling stations as well as the Election Office in Tafuna.

“The Election Office will be very restricted on Tuesday (Nov. 6),” said Uiagalelei who asked the community to wait for results as they are being distributed through KVZK-TV and local news outlets and not call the Election Office.

The Samoa News social media team will provide updates on the newspaper’s Facebook page and other avenues, as results are released.

The Election Office also asks the public to refrain from contacting the office on that day, as staff will be very busy.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

For the first time, the overseas and local absentee ballots will no longer be counted at the Election Office.  Instead all absentee ballots will be sorted and distributed to their respective polling places.

Swains Islands voters will cast ballots at the Election Office for the Congressional race and referendum and the counting will also be carried out at the Election Office. According to the voter roll, there are 50 registered Swain Islands voters.

As of last Friday morning, total local and overseas absentee ballots cast stands at 684 with 30 overseas ballots received back so far.

Tonight’s Hawaiian Air’s flight will be the last incoming flight for the mail bringing ballots, which will be quickly sorted tomorrow by the U.S. Postal Service destined for the Election Office.

Samoa News wishes American Samoa a safe and peaceful Election Day 2018 and “Go vote”.