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If you lost your Voter ID, you can still vote — show “Proof of Identification”

SUNSHINE, RAIN… VOTE PEOPLE!
fili@samoanews.com

Any registered voter, who has lost or misplaced their Voter ID when polls open territory-wide for the 2016 general election today, can still cast their ballot, by making sure proof of identification is provided to election officials at the respective polling stations.

A handful of local residents contacted Samoa News yesterday morning wanting to know how they could vote today, if their voter ID is misplaced or lost. One resident claimed, in a somewhat funny email, that his spouse who traveled off island last week “has with her my voter ID, which I forgot to take into my possession.”

Based on information from the election office early yesterday afternoon, Samoa News quickly emailed the person back to go into the Election Office yesterday for a new voter ID.

“All registered voters can still vote on Election Day, even if the elector has misplaced their voter ID,” was Chief Election Officer Uiagalelei Dr. Lealofi Uiagalelei’s response yesterday morning when contacted for comment. He said no new voter ID is being processed today.

“And registered electors should go straight to their designated polling place. Supervisors are instructed to help our voters in the right procedures,” he said, adding there are documents required for the elector to provide at the polling station.

Documents needed by a registered voter who has misplaced their voter ID: a valid U.S. passport along with social security card; or the birth certificate, a government issued picture ID (such as the local driver’s license) and social security card.

Uiagalelei said names on all these documents must match the name on the voter roll and stressed that this process is “only for those who have already registered but have lost or misplace their voter ID.”

Samoa News points out that every election year; the issue of misplaced voter IDs always surfaces either the day before election or on Election Day.

The 44-polling stations territory-wide will open for 12 hours starting at 6a.m today and Uiagalelei, and candidates for public office, are hopeful for a big turn out, after yesterday’s bad weather with a flash flood warning issued in the morning that was in effect until 3p.m. yesterday.

The weather office forecasts today’s weather as mostly cloudy with scattered showers with variable winds of up to 10 mph. For tonight, the forecast is mostly cloudy with numerous showers.

Despite yesterday morning’s heavy rain, the ASG vessel, Segaula headed to the Manu’a island group with ballot boxes, accompanied by election officials.

Port Administration Director Taimalelagi Dr. Claire Poumele said the vessel left Tutuila around 5a.m. with six election officials along with the ballot boxes heading first to Faleasao on Ta’u Island and then on to Ofu Island. She said no other cargo or passengers were on the sail that was specifically scheduled for the Election Office.

Samoa News understands that a lot of candidates seeking public office have already made plans to shuttle their constituents to polling stations and yesterday morning gubernatorial teams and their supporters were out waving on the street despite the heavy rain.

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 p.m. 3 p.m.

The ballot counting process then gets underway with the results called into the Election Office while election officials board the flight 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 expects the first results to be officially announced from the Election Office live on KVZK TV around 7p.m. The results will also at the same time be distributed to other news media outlets in the territory.

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

The local and off-island absentee ballots for the local House races will be placed in the ballot boxes before being delivered this morning, accompanied by election officials, to polling stations island-wide.

Any local House race off island absentee ballots that arrived on last night’s Hawaiian Airlines flight will be sorted at the Election Office before being delivered to the polling stations.

The Election Office will count all absentee ballots for the gubernatorial and congressional races at the Election Office in Tafuna, according to Uiagalelei. Absentee ballot boxes are expected to be opened around 2 p.m. today and the count will proceed thereafter, starting with the gubernatorial race. One poll watcher from each congressional candidate and gubernatorial team will attend the manual counting process.

U.S. ELECTIONS

Local residents are keeping a close watch on the U.S. Presidential race, which has been described by national media as contentious and a very close one between Democratic nominee, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is a former Secretary of State, and Republican nominee Donald Trump, a billionaire businessman.

The national media, including CNN, is covering election results. It’s expected the presidential results should be known before 7 p.m. Hawai’i time (6 p.m. local time), because of exit polls and the fact there is a time difference between the mainland and Hawai’i.

Also being watched locally is Hawai’i’s U.S. House District Number 2 race in which American Samoa native, US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat, is seeking re-election. Republican candidate Angela Kaaihue is challenging her.

Originally from the village of the Leloaloa, Gabbard was only 21-years old when she was first elected to the Hawai’i House of Representatives, the youngest person ever to do so. At the age of 23, she was the state's first elected official to voluntarily resign and go to war (she served in Afghanistan).

Gabbard, 30, was the first woman to be presented with an award by the Kuwait Army National Guard.