GOVERNOR Benigno R. Fitial signed into law Friday a bill setting rules for the runoff election in case none of the gubernatorial candidates get the 50+1 votes cast needed to be certified as election winners.
In a message to the Legislature, the governor said House Bill No. 16-220 “to amend the Northern Mariana Islands Election Law to provide for runoff election procedures and to allow for the counting of absentee ballots on election day; and for other purposes” becomes Public Law 16-43.
The House of Representatives and the Senate worked on the bill for about five months.
The Senate passed the measure with amendments on July 1. The House concurred on July 13.
A runoff election for governor and lieutenant governor is required, “if no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast and counted for the office,” according to “Section 1. Findings and Purpose” of the newly-signed law.
“Additionally, runoff election procedures shall be established by law,” it further stated.
“There shall be a runoff election fourteen (14) days after the Commonwealth of Election has certified the results of the general election,” reads Section 6509 amending the existing CNMI election law.
The Commonwealth Election Commission shall certify the results of the general election “not later than 10 days after the date of the general election.”
Only candidates who received the highest and second highest number of votes cast and counted in the general election shall compete in the runoff election. The candidates who receive more than half of the votes cast and counted in the runoff shall be declared the winner, the new law further stated.
On counting ballots for absentee voting, the amended election law says a ballot is counted when the “absentee ballot shall be received by the Commission not later than the date of election; provided that in the case of a runoff election an absentee ballot shall be postmarked not later than the day of the runoff election and shall be received by the Commission no later than fourteen days after the date of the runoff election.”
