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Administration’s military voting bill hits the Fono agenda
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives will be conducting separate hearings to hear testimony from Chief Election Officer Soliai Tuipine regarding the Administration’s proposed bill calling for absentee military voting.
The bill aims to provide absentee registration and voting for military personnel and voters residing off island who wish to cast ballots for the upcoming gubernatorial and House race later this year.
The proposal is called the Uniformed Service Absentee and Overseas Voter Act.
In his March 14 letter to the Fono leadership, Governor Togiola Tulafono said that the proposal “provides reasonable access for our uniformed service members who are absent from the territory or are overseas, to our local election process.”
Togiola said that while leaders are aware that local law already provides for this type of access for absentee and overseas uniformed service voters, their spouses and dependents, the bill “would make substantially similar provisions for access to our local elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and the American Samoa House of Representatives.”
He added that the bill also includes an extension of voting privileges to spouses and dependents who join the uniformed service while they are still eligible under the proposed law.
According to Togiola, the proposal intends to give the same access to uniformed service members’ spouses and dependents who continue in service to the US and American Samoa.
The Governor has urged the Fono leadership to support the speedy passage of the proposed measure.
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