Anguilla’s General Elections are now less than twelve months away – as constitutionally due before the end of June, 2020. The 2020 Elections are expected to see new players vying for four at large seats. At least two persons have already publicly announced their intention to run at large. Is the necessary machinery in place to facilitate this new era in Anguilla’s electoral system? Are members of the general public fully aware of this new era and adequately equipped to respond to the opportunities presented in this new era?
The Central Electoral Office has been quite active in seeking to promote awareness among the populace about the need to register and acquire a voter registration card, for the upcoming elections. ‘Cassie’ and ‘Minnie’ have become household names as the Central Electoral Office has, through Samara Gordon and Farah Banks of Radio Anguilla, effectively communicated, via their now renowned public announcement, its desire to have persons register and obtain their voter registration cards.
But what of the nitty gritty? Do voters actually understand what will be expected of them on election day, as it relates to casting their vote? Some persons appear unclear as to how many persons one individual will be able to vote for. This is a matter that the Central Electoral Office must deal with speedily. The electoral system employed during previous elections resulted in some spoilt ballots. It is likely that at least some of those spoilt ballots resulted from a lack of understanding on the part of voters. A system that now requires a voter to select a candidate of his or her choice from a district and four at large candidates from the entire island, as a single district, has the potential to create some confusion, if not managed properly. While the capacity of the Supervisor of Elections, and the Central Electoral Office, to effectively communicate and manage the new system is not in question, the actual roll out of their plan to ensure that minimal to no confusion is associated with the 2020 elections must be imminent, if it will have the greatest effect.
It is also understood that the traditional process of counting the votes by reading out and tabulating each ballot will no longer be utilised. Technology will be utilised to facilitate the tabulation process thereby ensuring the timely return of the election results. While persons are likely to miss the thrill of keeping their individual counts as the votes are called one by one, it would be counterproductive to usher in a new electoral era, while retaining what is really an inefficient and ineffective means of tabulating the votes cast.
Change is often viewed with some suspicion. What will be done to ensure that the upgraded tabulating system is not viewed with suspicion? While the old system could be described as inefficient and ineffective it was totally transparent. The Supervisor of Elections and her team must act expeditiously to ensure that voters understand and trust the new tabulation system so that the integrity of the counts, following the closing of the polls, is not questioned.
Members of the voting public will, understandably, have some concerns as we enter this new electoral era. The Supervisor of Elections, with her team at the Central Electoral Office, must act swiftly and comprehensively to allay such concerns. It is therefore anticipated that following the passage of new Election Legislation, in the immediate future, we will see a flurry of comprehensive, yet targeted, activity designed to ensure that the Anguilla populace has a full grasp of the various aspects of the new Electoral System.
