Oct. 4, 2002 – The territory's supervisor of elections says he expects a surge of last-minute would-be voters to show up Saturday and Sunday, the last days of voter registration before the Nov. 5 general election.
In the last two weeks, John Abramson said, an average of 125 people a day have been showing up to register. So, this weekend he figures at least 250 more will visit the V.I. Election System offices — at Sunny Isle on St. Croix, on Crystal Gade on St. Thomas and at the Battery on St. John. All three offices will be open from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.
To register in the Virgin Islands, you must be at least 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen and a resident of the territory for at least 90 days prior to the next election. Voter registration closes 30 days before elections, so that means you must have resided in the territory for at least 60 days prior to registering.
Going into the countdown to the November elections, "Every day is busier," Abramson said. "Instead of going home at 9 at night, we'll be leaving at 11."
He said the last-minute registration crunch puts a strain on his staff of 10, but he's glad to see so many Virgin Islanders eager to do their civic duty — he just wishes they would have decided to do it earlier in the year. But, he pointed out, there are a lot of people who wait to do their Christmas shopping on Dec. 24 or to file their tax returns on April 15.
Voters next month will choose a governor/lieutenant governor team, a delegate to Congress, 15 members of the 25th Legislature and members of the territory's Boards of Election. All this year, there have been voter registration drives sponsored by nearly a hundred private, civic, and not-for-profit organizations, Abramson said.
Registration cards are processed the same day the voters sign up, he said. To complete the process internally, elections workers consolidate the new names into the voter log books that are opened at the polls on election day for voters to sign before stepping into the ballot booth.
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