Voter Reform is Underway in the Territory for 2022
Increasing voter confidence is on the docket for the V.I. Legislature as senators and other government officials engaged with U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois during his “Faith in Elections Project” tour in the territory Tuesday.
2022-01-07 11:34:18 - VI News Staff
Davis visited both St. Thomas and St. Croix for his tour where he strives to increase voter assurance through education, engagement, and reform. He is the ranking member of the Elections Assistance Commission Committee and had several meetings and engagements with V.I. senators, V.I. Supervisor of Elections Caroline F. Fawkes, and Delegate to Congress Stacy Plaskett.
Sens. Alma Francis Heyliger and Donna Frett-Gregory met with Davis at the Legislature Building to discuss proficiencies and challenges that the territory’s election system is faced with. Afterward, Davis met with Fawkes to do a tour of the election office on St. Croix.
“We have recognized that there is some need for election reform in the Virgin Islands,” said Frett-Gregory.
Rodney said he wanted to stress “what’s being done right” in elections and in the territory, which means a more streamlined and modern voter identification system, and an efficient way for counting votes and announcing results.
“The local election officials know how to run elections,” he said, adding that one benefit of national elections allows state governments to hold responsibility for election systems. However, he added that the tour is a part of ensuring those systems are accountable.
Though there were positive things discussed during the tour, during post-interviews with Francis Heyliger and Fawkes, Francis Heyliger said that some of the challenges facing the territory deal with public trust, transparency, accessibility, and voter education. Fawkes added that some challenges surround the use of absentee ballots, voter registration, and low voter participation, particularly for young adults aged 18-24.
“I currently have a piece of legislation, bill number 34-0149, that has to do with opening up a little bit more of public access to information to assist with transparency. I also put in 34-0291, and that one has to do with early voting,” said Francis Heyliger. The senator also proposed bill 34-0414, which targets online voter registration, and bill 34-0412, which approaches absentee ballots in a digitized manner.