Voters of Corozal Bay have 2 elections to participate in. The first for the next Corozal Town Council and the second is for the Area Representative who will replace the late David "Dido" Vega.
This afternoon, the Chief Elections Officer explained that her office has attempted to streamline the process as best as possible for more convenience to the voters. Here's how she explained the logistics that will take place in Corozal Bay:
Josephine Tamai - Chief Elections Officer
"We want to encourage persons who will be voting, or who are registered electors for the Corozal Bay Electoral Division to take the opportunity to vote in both elections. We're making it very easy for those persons."
"For Corozal Bay, we have polling area #39 and polling area 40. Those are the polling areas that will be having double elections. So, we have a total of 18 polling stations in those areas. Counting for Corozal Bay will be at Saint Francis Xavier RC School. When it comes to the municipal election now, we have counting being conducted at the Corozal Community College. In that area, we need to ensure that it is safe for everybody. But, when it comes to the process itself on that day, all persons who are registered electors for Corozal Bay, those persons are eligible to vote in the municipal elections. Those persons will join 1 line. So, when you reach the polling station, you will have 1 line. In that line, now, those persons will first vote for municipal elections. When you go in, you will be sanitized, you will be identified. The name will be marked off the voter's list. The person will be required to show his or her right index finger, to ensure that they have not voted before. We will use 2 different color inks, and 2 different fingers for the dip, to know exactly who has voted for the by-election, and who has voted for the municipal election. So, the voter will first go to the presiding officer for the municipal election to receive a ballot paper. Once that person has gone through the process in terms of marking and voting for 1 mayor and 6 councilors, that person would have already been identified. They're in the same classroom. Those persons will just go over to the presiding officer for the by-election to receive a ballot paper for the by-election. They go through the process again. They mark their one X for whichever candidate they choose to vote for and place it in the ballot box for the by-election. So, again, you have 2 separate ballot boxes: 1 for the municipal election, and one for the by-election."
The Chief Elections Officer says that she and her team cannot force Corozal Bay voters to participate in one election or the other. But, she is encouraging them to exercise their democratic rights in both.
