The Guam Election Commission is looking for funding and a new space for early absentee voters.
PNC’s Damen Michael has this story
According to Guam Code Annotated section 10107 or public law 36-041 any qualified voter of Guam may vote during the early in office absentee voting period. In reference from the Guam Election Commission this allows voters to exercise their right for the 2022 primary election via absentee ballot.
The Guam election commission in the past has used buildings with approximately 5000 square feet to accommodate safety protocols. On Newstalk K57 with Patti Arroyo this morning Maria Pangelinan the executive director of the Guam Election Commission stated that the previous building used was the GCICs second floor, however, according to Pangelinan, the commission is now looking at a new spot to hold early voting.
Moreover, Pangilinan addressed that the most important part about early elections is the security of ballots.
Furthermore, the Director stated that without a security vault early voting staff would have to be escorted by GPD from the voting site to the Guam Elections Committee and then reconcile the ballot issues and ballots placed in absentee envelopes. This process could end up taking longer time than needed.
Included with this situation the Guam Election Commission is awaiting funding for their early election. With the process of the government of Guam they must fairly send out all the specifications of the project and then place the project on a bid.
To conclude, the Guam election committee is looking around for a new site and have established a market research process to find a committed partner for the bid. They are also hoping to look for a long term associated space that could be the recurring early voting site.
