Objections

How do I object to a fraudulent voter in my constituency?  Now that we have continuous registration of voters in Anguilla, there is a heavy burden placed on the Electoral Registration Officer, Priscilla Gumbs, to make sure that, after 1 January 2009, she checks each new voter’s application for registration.  Her questioning of applicants to be registered during 2009 is now the first line of defence against voter registration fraud in the process of continual registration.  The applicant is required to attend personally before her, and to make himself available to be questioned, and made to produce evidence of residence and other qualifications. 

It is not every Anguillian who is entitled to vote in Anguilla.  We have to be qualified Anguillians or belongers, and we must not be subject to one of the statutory disqualifications.  So, for example, any Anguillian, who has been certified as insane, or convicted of an elections offence, is disqualified from voting. 

            The second line of defence against fraudulent registration of voters is the 'objection'.  This is provided for by the Election Registration Regulations.  I understand there have been objections in the past, and some appeals have even gone up to the Magistrate's Court.  That is as it should be.

By Regulation 36, any voter in the Electoral District in question may object to the registration of any person whose name is included in the published list of claimants.  Thus, no voter from outside District 5 can object to any person who is registered as a voter in District 5.  The objection is made by filing the appropriate form of ‘notice of objection’ which is obtained from the Electoral Registration Office.  Such notice is to be delivered not later than 15 days after the first day of publishing the quarterly list of voters.  For this quarter, that date was 26 November 2009. 

I trust that every candidate is paying attention.