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There were over 160 people who voted on St. Croix on the first day of early voting–a historic event–as it was the first time Virgin Islanders had the chance to do so ahead of the November 4 General Election.

The process was not without its hiccups, however, as there were reports of machines malfunctioning and Board of Elections employees cautioning voters to wait until the machines were fixed. Other than that, the process appeared to be seamless. Board of Elections Supervisor Caroline Fawkes spoke with the VI Consortium and walked us through the process.

Early Voting Procedure

The process is rather simple on St. Croix. Early voters would first register at the front with BOE employees. Voters would then walk deeper inside the building to meet with Election Judge Patricia Frorup. After reviewing the paperwork the voter filled out at the front, the judge would search for the voter’s polling station. There are 14 polling stations on St. Croix.

Once the polling place has been identified, the judge would give the voter a ballot from his or her designated polling site, which the voter would then take to one of the voting machines located in the same room. Once the person has voted, before exiting, he or she would print and sign his or her name.

One Board of Elections employee told the VI Consortium day one proved to be a “full house,” and hailed the day a success.

Senator Kenneth Gittens, the chief sponsor of the early voting bill signed into law by Governor de Jongh, told the VI Consortium he was visiting the Board of Elections to observe the process. He also said in a press release that early voting is beneficial to residents of all kinds.

“Early voting is now a reality in the Virgin Islands and this is indeed a step in the right direction as we look at election reform,” Gittens said. “This early voting measure is beneficial to our seniors, the disabled, private/public sector workers, and even those who simply choose to vote early to avoid lines and make the process less stressful.”

Gittens said he spoke to early voters in both the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Districts, and besides some complications in the beginning, the senator said they were “pleased with the early voting process.”

Early Voting Info

The Joint Boards of Elections along with the Office of the Supervisor of Elections have announced that pursuant to Act 7643, EARLY VOTING will begin on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 and end on Friday, October 31, 2014.

Voting is from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. each day at the respective district offices (St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John):

ST. CROIX OFFICE
STX – Sunny Isle Annex Unit 4 (adjacent to the Social Security Office)

ST. THOMAS OFFICE
STT – 9200 Lockhart Gardens (above Banco Popular)

ST. JOHN OFFICE
STJ – Estate Enighed

The St. John office will open an hour early on two of its early-voting days in order to accommodate more voters:

Saturday, October 25 and Sunday, October 26 from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Tags: voting

Ernice Gilbert
I wear many hats, I suppose, but the one which fits me best would be journalism, second to that would be radio personality, thirdly singer/songwriter and down the line. I've been the Editor-In-Chief at my videogames website, Gamesthirst, for over 5 years, writing over 7,000 articles and more than 2 million words. I'm also very passionate about where I live, the United States Virgin Islands, and I'm intent on making it a better place by being resourceful and keeping our leaders honest. VI Consortium was birthed out of said desire, hopefully my efforts bear fruit. Reach me at [email protected].