Unconfirmed registered voters must re-register to vote in next General Election

By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOLLOWING several months of Electoral Reform which started late December 2007, Supervisor of Elections Leroy Benjamin has expressed his satisfaction with the smooth flow of operation witnessed during the confirmation and registration periods.

Benjamin told SKNVibes that registration has not stopped and will never stop, as it is an ongoing process. He said that all eligible individuals should be able to register at any time in order to exercise their rights to vote. Benjamin however made it clear that the registered voters who did not confirm their registration during the given period must now be registered as new voters.

“Registration will always be open to individuals. I must say though that so far, there have been no major problems with the registration process. Now that the confirmation [period] has ended, persons who did not confirm are coming out to register. People are duly being registered and once the correct information is given the process should be perfectly fine. ~~Adz:Right~~

“When the [appropriate] time comes, individuals who would have registered giving all correct information, making the necessary changes to name, status or address, would be able to just sign their names and would be given their card. It is a very simple process and people are now getting the idea of it.”

Benjamin warned that registered voters must be careful to secure their Voter Identification Card for the next General Election. He informed that without the card, voters would not be allowed to vote, as he noted that it would be the only form of identification for voters. He said the information presented on the card is stored in the database at the Electoral Office, and indicated that an identical photo to what is on the card would be at the polling station to verify the identity of each voter.

Benjamin said the card will be used only for the photo as he said “we are going to know that you are you”. He added that the finer details in relation to what happens at the polling station and how exactly the card would be used, would be disclosed at a later date.

Supervisor Benjamin stressed that “at this point, it’s no secret as to what the reform is about and people are responding positively.”