ကူးယူချက် 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:06.570 --> 00:00:11.272
The views expressed on this program are not necessarily those of WTJX,
00:00:11.272 --> 00:00:13.821
its board, staff, or underwriters.
00:00:14.884 --> 00:00:20.012
Good day and welcome to Ability Radio, brought to you by the Disability Rights
00:00:20.012 --> 00:00:24.004
Center of the Virgin Islands. I am Angus Drigo. I'm your host today.
00:00:24.497 --> 00:00:29.452
And today we are very fortunate to have Mr. Terrell Alexandre.
00:00:29.452 --> 00:00:36.251
He is the Deputy Supervisor of Elections on St. Croix. Before we get to Mr.
00:00:36.831 --> 00:00:42.242
Alexandre, just some housekeeping things, the Disability Rights Center advocates
00:00:42.242 --> 00:00:48.052
for individuals with disability, ensuring that their rights are not violated
00:00:48.052 --> 00:00:50.689
and that there's no neglect and abuse.
00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:54.092
And we do that by having a lot of outreach events.
00:00:55.492 --> 00:00:58.558
We do a lot of legal advocacy work.
00:00:58.907 --> 00:01:04.500
We also function as a parent center for children with disabilities and their families.
00:01:04.901 --> 00:01:11.352
Our offices are at Havensight in St. Thomas and on St. Croix we are west of
00:01:11.352 --> 00:01:16.232
the old Kmart West and our number is 772-1200.
00:01:18.380 --> 00:01:24.282
Before I go to Mr. Alexandre, we have an event that's coming up on August the
00:01:24.282 --> 00:01:30.454
12th and the 13th. On the 12th, it's going to be on St. Croix and the 13th on St. Thomas.
00:01:31.087 --> 00:01:36.542
And that event is a voter registration and election machine demonstration, so
00:01:36.542 --> 00:01:42.992
you can come by and learn how to use the machines. St. Croix will be accompanied by the AARP,
00:01:44.284 --> 00:01:50.109
and the VI Diabetes Office of Excellence. On St. Thomas.
00:01:50.826 --> 00:01:54.808
They are also going to be appearing with us at the Tutu Park Mall.
00:01:55.529 --> 00:01:59.259
And the event is at the same time from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
00:01:59.524 --> 00:02:05.159
I just want to start off with one piece of statistic, and that's for the individuals
00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:08.811
with disability out there. You have an extremely loud voice.
00:02:09.432 --> 00:02:15.949
One in five voaters are individuals with disability. so you can actually make
00:02:15.949 --> 00:02:17.931
your voice heard this election.
00:02:18.551 --> 00:02:25.372
So without further ado, I would like Mr. Alexandre to introduce himself,
00:02:25.929 --> 00:02:29.221
and then we will get into a little conversation about the elections.
00:02:29.859 --> 00:02:33.329
Good day. My name is Terrell Alexandre, and I serve as a Deputy Supervisor of
00:02:33.329 --> 00:02:35.781
Elections in the St. Croix district.
00:02:36.553 --> 00:02:42.890
Okay. I know we have the primary election, which is on August 1st.
00:02:43.198 --> 00:02:47.889
Can you tell us a little bit about any information that you have with regards
00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:49.828
to that upcoming election?
00:02:49.961 --> 00:02:54.204
Yes, we have the primary election, which is scheduled for Saturday, August 1st.
00:02:55.933 --> 00:02:59.409
The primary election is for the Democratic candidates, to make sure that they
00:02:59.409 --> 00:03:03.659
make the requirements to move on to the general election ballot.
00:03:03.659 --> 00:03:08.539
But we have early voting for the primary election, which is scheduled from July
00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:13.755
20th to the 29th. on St. Croix and St. Thomas is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
00:03:14.301 --> 00:03:20.652
And then on St. John, St. John begins July 23rd to the 29th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
00:03:21.168 --> 00:03:24.599
On St. Croix, the location is the St. Croix Elections Office.
00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:26.169
And then St. Thomas, it is the St.
00:03:26.169 --> 00:03:30.159
Thomas Elections Office, above a Bank of Popular. And then St. John is...
00:03:31.341 --> 00:03:35.991
In the marketplace Suite Three and we are encouraging voters to take part
00:03:35.991 --> 00:03:40.228
in early voting and we encourage you not to wait until the last minute to cast your ballot
00:03:40.652 --> 00:03:45.721
again early voting and synchronize and thomas is July 20th to the 29th 9 a.m
00:03:45.721 --> 00:03:50.074
to 6 p.m The St. Croix office is located in Sunny Isle shopping center,
00:03:50.596 --> 00:03:54.883
former movie theater location and st thomas is above of Banco Popular.
00:03:55.249 --> 00:04:00.427
And St. John, is July 23rd to the 29th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
00:04:01.181 --> 00:04:05.381
Since you started off by saying that early voting started on the 20th,
00:04:05.381 --> 00:04:08.191
do you have any stats just for that day?
00:04:08.412 --> 00:04:11.268
Because I'm assuming that you probably have that.
00:04:11.436 --> 00:04:17.072
Yes, we do have stats for July 20th, 2026. That was the first day of early voting.
00:04:17.444 --> 00:04:22.285
We had an amazing day. Territory-wide, we had 970 voters cast their ballots.
00:04:22.703 --> 00:04:28.801
The breakdown by islands would be St. Croix, 509; St. Thomas, 468;
00:04:28.801 --> 00:04:33.521
and St. John, three individuals. Again, 509 for St. Croix.
00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:36.914
468, and three for St. John.
00:04:37.499 --> 00:04:43.467
Now, I know the primary is happening on the same day as this broadcast,
00:04:43.827 --> 00:04:48.233
but we also would want to talk a little bit about the general election to some extent.
00:04:48.778 --> 00:04:54.731
And I would like to start off by just asking, as an individual who wants to
00:04:54.731 --> 00:04:56.172
vote, what do I need to do?
00:04:56.445 --> 00:05:00.886
Well, the first step, if you want to vote, you have to be a registered voter.
00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:05.641
There's numerous ways that you can register to vote. One, you can visit any one of our offices.
00:05:06.117 --> 00:05:11.042
And St. Thomas, we're located in Lockhart Gardens above Banco
Load full transcript
Papilar.
00:05:11.396 --> 00:05:15.611
And St. John, we're located in the Marketplace Suite 3; And on St.
00:05:15.611 --> 00:05:18.891
Croix, we're located in the Sunhead Shopping Center,
00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:23.919
the former movie theater, location the process is very simple. Just walk
00:05:23.919 --> 00:05:27.536
into the office with your documents your documents that you require to provide us,
00:05:28.012 --> 00:05:31.466
we need either your u.s birth certificate a U.S. passport
00:05:31.907 --> 00:05:36.989
If you're a naturalized citizen, a naturalization certificate. We don't accept an expired passport
00:05:36.989 --> 00:05:39.261
And none of those documents can not be copied.
00:05:39.679 --> 00:05:43.099
Let's say you don't want to come into the office; you can visit our website vi
00:05:43.099 --> 00:05:47.772
vote.gov/registration to complete the registration online.
00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:53.769
Since we're in the we're in the primary election, registration ended on July
00:05:53.769 --> 00:05:58.509
2nd, we have to close voter registration 30 days before any election, and then
00:05:58.509 --> 00:06:00.580
it opens back up five days after,
00:06:01.038 --> 00:06:05.723
any election, so registration will be opened back up for the general election from August 6,
00:06:06.298 --> 00:06:11.255
until October 4th where we will be able to register to vote to take part in the
00:06:11.847 --> 00:06:14.899
general election, but the first step is to register to vote. Again,
00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:16.559
the documents you need are either your U.S.
00:06:16.559 --> 00:06:20.468
Birth certificate, U.S. passport, or a naturalization certificate.
00:06:20.851 --> 00:06:24.639
Would you provide any one of those documents? We don't accept copies.
00:06:25.758 --> 00:06:28.254
Any one of those documents, and the passport cannot be expired.
00:06:28.938 --> 00:06:35.099
I know the last election, we did an exit poll, and it was quite promising in
00:06:35.099 --> 00:06:43.435
terms of people having access and the ability to seek assistance in voting.
00:06:43.945 --> 00:06:48.919
Can you expand a little bit on that in terms of what you've seen happening
00:06:48.919 --> 00:06:52.101
then, since you've just had the early voting?
00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:58.319
You can reframe the question; I'm going to make sure I understand it clearly. I was saying that we had a
00:06:58.990 --> 00:07:04.877
an exit poll during the last election. And the information we got from the people
00:07:04.877 --> 00:07:08.647
that we polled was very promising in terms of how the election was conducted,
00:07:08.647 --> 00:07:12.075
access, if you needed help with voting and so forth.
00:07:12.626 --> 00:07:18.347
And just so folks know, people with disabilities or anybody that has any kind
00:07:18.347 --> 00:07:23.097
of issues where you can't vote for yourself, you could actually bring somebody to help you.
00:07:23.097 --> 00:07:26.607
I'm saying that correctly, right? Correct. Except if they're a union person
00:07:26.607 --> 00:07:28.136
or the person that employs you?
00:07:28.804 --> 00:07:31.877
You could bring anyone. Once you feel comfortable, you're bringing someone who
00:07:31.877 --> 00:07:32.957
could assist you to vote.
00:07:32.957 --> 00:07:37.127
You could bring anyone. There is some paperwork required to complete that process,
00:07:37.452 --> 00:07:41.187
but that person can only assist one voter in the election. So for example,
00:07:41.187 --> 00:07:44.667
if you have parents, you would only be able to assist one parent.
00:07:44.667 --> 00:07:46.514
Somebody else would have to assist the other parent.
00:07:46.885 --> 00:07:50.947
That's one step in the voting process with individuals with disability.
00:07:50.947 --> 00:07:54.577
And even if you don't have a disability, anyone can assist the next voter,
00:07:54.577 --> 00:07:57.060
but it has to be one person per election.
00:07:57.506 --> 00:08:00.691
Also, our machines are capable to assist any voter.
00:08:01.179 --> 00:08:05.987
The ExpressVote machine, it has the braille on it and you can put in a headset
00:08:05.987 --> 00:08:08.869
and the machine will read everything that's on the screen to you.
00:08:09.310 --> 00:08:12.462
And you can use a keypad on the side of the screen to make your selections.
00:08:12.936 --> 00:08:17.767
And in the DS200, you plug in the headphones to hear when you scan your ballot
00:08:17.767 --> 00:08:20.984
And the DS200 is your tabulator; that's where the votes are counted.
00:08:21.367 --> 00:08:25.477
It will tell you any errors or what's happening with your ballot once you meet
00:08:25.477 --> 00:08:28.780
the requirements, the machine will just accept your ballot as is,
00:08:29.296 --> 00:08:33.357
if you undervoted or overvoted in any contest, which is your right to do, you
00:08:33.357 --> 00:08:37.820
may want to undervote in a contest, specifically for example, let's say you want to vote for only two,
00:08:38.372 --> 00:08:40.851
candidates in the Senate race, you can.
00:08:41.747 --> 00:08:44.998
But the machine will just prompt you and let you know that you're undervoting,
00:08:45.608 --> 00:08:49.635
but it is your choice, and if you want to cast your ballot, you could hit "cast"
00:08:50.012 --> 00:08:53.318
if not, you could hit "return," and then you could go and make your selection, but
00:08:53.318 --> 00:08:56.943
then it is your choice, and this this can be completed on the express vote machines,
00:08:57.396 --> 00:09:01.508
We do a very good job of thinking of voters when we're implementing
00:09:01.508 --> 00:09:04.988
processes, selecting locations, for example,
00:09:05.468 --> 00:09:10.518
we were pleased to use the St. Croix Educational Complex gymnasium but the issue
00:09:10.518 --> 00:09:14.998
with the Educational Complex gymnasium is the walking distance you have to walk
00:09:14.998 --> 00:09:17.446
from your vehicle to get to the gymnasium.
00:09:17.835 -->
00:09:20.738
So one switch we made was we started to utilize the St.
00:09:20.738 --> 00:09:25.198
Joseph Hospitality Lounge that worked well for us during early voting and in
00:09:25.198 --> 00:09:29.728
the last in the 2024 general election, so that's a switch we made. We always try
00:09:29.728 --> 00:09:32.981
to keep the voters in mind to make the process easier for the voters,
00:09:33.393 --> 00:09:36.948
because without the voters we would not have an election, and we have to ensure
00:09:36.948 --> 00:09:39.296
that we are meeting the voters' needs each election,
00:09:40.273 --> 00:09:45.356
Have you had complaints with regard to providing those access points?
00:09:45.953 --> 00:09:48.616
Yes, and that's why sometimes we have to look at what we're doing.
00:09:49.850 --> 00:09:53.564
We typically do use public buildings because public buildings are free,
00:09:53.976 --> 00:09:55.657
and we don't have to pay a cost for it.
00:09:55.959 --> 00:09:59.000
And we did get complaints about the Educational Complex.
00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:02.980
It's so funny, I saw an email about it the other day when I was going to answer,
00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:08.440
A voter submitted a complaint about the walking distance at the Educational
00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:12.170
Complex, back in the 2022 election cycle.
00:10:12.170 --> 00:10:16.560
So then in 2024, we made the change to utilize the St. Joseph Hospitality Lounge
00:10:16.560 --> 00:10:18.090
and that worked out well.
00:10:18.485 --> 00:10:23.214
St. Joseph, and then at Central High School, the Modular Gymnasium worked well for us.
00:10:23.597 --> 00:10:26.580
D.C. Canagata works well. And then we are in Frederiksted,
00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:29.960
we have the Claudeo Marco School. So we always try to keep the voters in mind
00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:31.643
when searching for locations.
00:10:31.859 --> 00:10:35.760
I'm happy that you said that. And just to add that as a voter,
00:10:35.760 --> 00:10:39.920
you have a right to vote however you want, wherever you want,
00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:44.713
and you're supposed to get access to the machines, access to information.
00:10:45.125 --> 00:10:48.290
And if you don't get that access, you can complain about it.
00:10:48.290 --> 00:10:51.230
You can complain to the election system, to the board of elections.
00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:53.950
You could complain to the AG's office.
00:10:53.950 --> 00:10:57.200
You could complain to us because that's one of the things that we do at the
00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.310
Disability Rights Center. And you could do that anonymously.
00:11:00.310 --> 00:11:03.352
You could come in person. You could submit an email.
00:11:03.608 --> 00:11:07.850
We always like documentation, so then if we have to investigate a matter,
00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:12.410
that we could have key documentation to see what we have to be investigating.
00:11:12.410 --> 00:11:14.074
So always look for that documentation.
00:11:15.167 --> 00:11:20.096
And then also you have to keep in mind, and if you're someone with a disability,
00:11:20.096 --> 00:11:23.756
you don't have a disability, you could also request an absentee ballot.
00:11:24.092 --> 00:11:27.686
You don't have to actually come into the office to do that process.
00:11:27.686 --> 00:11:32.929
You could request that from our website, www.vote.gov/absentee
00:11:33.382 --> 00:11:35.986
And then we could put the ballot in the mail if you request it,
00:11:35.986 --> 00:11:38.048
email, or somebody can pick it up.
00:11:38.394 --> 00:11:42.266
For the primary election, July 18th was the last day to request any ballot that
00:11:42.266 --> 00:11:45.282
was going to be mailed, whether it was on-island or off-island.
00:11:45.654 --> 00:11:50.076
So up until August 1st at 5 p.m., you can only request a ballot that will be
00:11:50.416 --> 00:11:55.676
emailed or a ballot that you pick up from the office. So there are numerous
00:11:55.676 --> 00:11:57.293
ways a voter can cast a ballot.
00:11:58.034 --> 00:12:01.504
You don't have to be compelled to come in and go to a voter center to vote.
00:12:01.795 --> 00:12:05.646
You do have options. You could always reach out to our offices and send us the
00:12:05.646 --> 00:12:11.676
phone number is 774-3107. And at St. Croix, it's 773-1021.
00:12:11.956 --> 00:12:15.663
Again, the number at St. Croix is 340-773-1021.
00:12:16.040 --> 00:12:19.912
And at St. Thomas, it's 340-774-3107.
00:12:20.307 --> 00:12:23.825
You could always reach out to our offices, and we could provide further assistance to you.
00:12:24.695 --> 00:12:29.736
Question, can you vote at any polling station, or do you have to vote at a specific one?
00:12:29.736 --> 00:12:33.936
That's a great question. So in 2022, well, we actually started the process in
00:12:33.936 --> 00:12:38.136
2020, and we apologized to our voters because when we implemented it,
00:12:38.136 --> 00:12:41.854
the implementation was very, very wrong.
00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.666
We thought we knew what we were doing, but then we were trying to build it based
00:12:45.666 --> 00:12:49.416
on the equipment that we had. So then we had to invest funding,
00:12:49.416 --> 00:12:52.506
have our funding, and then we purchased some new e-poll books,
00:12:52.506 --> 00:12:55.979
which allowed us to allow voters to vote at any one of the voting centers.
00:12:56.344 --> 00:12:59.386
So let's say you work in Frederiksted, but you live in Christiansted.
00:12:59.758 --> 00:13:02.521
If you're in Frederiksted, you can vote at a voter center in Frederiksted.
00:13:02.875 --> 00:13:08.016
If you're in the country, if you work in the country but live in the town,
00:13:08.855 --> 00:13:10.922
you could vote in the country.
00:13:11.311 --> 00:13:16.346
You're not tied to a specific precinct, and every single precinct contains the
00:13:16.346 --> 00:13:18.071
correct ballot for the voters to get.
00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:23.762
And, it's the same
process during early voting. It worked well during early voting.
00:13:24.122 --> 00:13:26.594
So we know it works well on Election Day.
00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:31.083
Where are the polling stations on St. Croix? Do you have that information?
00:13:31.501 --> 00:13:36.439
Yes, for the primary election, the polling locations on St. Croix are the
00:13:36.439 --> 00:13:41.768
DC Canageta Recreation Center, the St. Croix Central High Modular Gymnasium,
00:13:42.290 --> 00:13:46.492
and Claudio Marco Elementary School in Frederiksted.
00:13:46.891 --> 00:13:51.119
Since it's a small election, we use less voting centers, and you can visit any
00:13:51.119 --> 00:13:53.074
one of those voting centers to cast a ballot
00:13:53.444 --> 00:13:57.379
and if you don't want to visit a voting center, just remind voters again we have
00:13:57.379 --> 00:14:04.305
early voting from July 22 and 29, 9 a.m to 6 p.m and that does include Saturdays and Sundays
00:14:04.706 --> 00:14:09.329
And if not, you could request an absentee. You could request it via email up until
00:14:09.329 --> 00:14:13.739
email, and to pick it up from the office until August 1st at 5 p.m. The last to
00:14:13.739 --> 00:14:16.700
request a mail ballot was July 18th.
00:14:17.458 --> 00:14:24.089
Okay. In terms of going back to some of the issues that you may have heard from
00:14:24.089 --> 00:14:27.452
voters, I know transportation sometimes is a big issue.
00:14:28.128 --> 00:14:33.329
We've always advocated for folks to get transportation. If you need transportation,
00:14:33.329 --> 00:14:38.351
you can contact DRCVI, and we can see what we can do to help you if you have a disability.
00:14:39.527 --> 00:14:46.464
But besides those - transportation, access - what other issues have you seen come
00:14:46.464 --> 00:14:50.109
up that has hindered somebody from voting?
00:14:50.427 --> 00:14:56.220
That would primarily be the majority of the access issues we may have.
00:14:57.534 --> 00:15:00.881
Because we make the process so simple that we really don't.
00:15:01.247 --> 00:15:03.984
Like I mentioned earlier, there's numerous ways you could cast your ballot.
00:15:03.984 --> 00:15:07.384
So you could request a ballot online, get the ballot online,
00:15:07.384 --> 00:15:11.023
and then email it back to us. So you don't physically have to come into the office.
00:15:11.545 --> 00:15:14.854
And even if you're not tech savvy, you could have somebody pick up the ballot
00:15:14.854 --> 00:15:19.384
for you, or we could mail a ballot to you, and then you could just mail it back
00:15:19.384 --> 00:15:23.426
to you. And when you mail it back to us, there is no cost of mailing the ballot
00:15:23.646 --> 00:15:25.173
back to the Election System.
00:15:25.643 --> 00:15:31.814
So we don't really have accessibility issues because there are numerous ways a voter can vote.
00:15:33.374 --> 00:15:38.154
And prior to doing online voter registration, which we started in January 2025,
00:15:38.154 -->
00:15:41.944
That would have been the only other accessibility, but now you could register
00:15:41.944 --> 00:15:44.910
to vote online, and that's open 24-7.
00:15:45.599 --> 00:15:51.438
So there is no reason why you cannot be registered to vote. And the process is simple.
00:15:51.787 --> 00:15:55.560
And then, we're still finding ways of tweaking it. We have one more update where
00:15:55.995 --> 00:16:00.595
the voter will be able to complete their picture during the online process.
00:16:00.880 --> 00:16:05.173
Once we have the person's picture and signature, the file, and the rest of the information.
00:16:06.406 --> 00:16:10.563
We could then print the ID card in the office, and we could mail that ID card to the voter.
00:16:10.563 --> 00:16:14.850
So the voter will not even have to come to the office to complete the registration
00:16:15.030 --> 00:16:18.493
process. So we're thinking out of the box to improve the process,
00:16:18.493 --> 00:16:21.817
to make sure that the process is easy and accessible for every single voter.
00:16:22.438 --> 00:16:26.473
Thank you for that. Putting those questions out, because I want people with
00:16:26.473 --> 00:16:29.733
disabilities to understand how easy it is to vote. Very easy.
00:16:29.873 --> 00:16:34.763
How easy it is to express your right and choose the candidates and have your
00:16:34.763 --> 00:16:36.172
best interests at heart, you know?
00:16:36.445 --> 00:16:42.483
Yeah, it's quite simple. We try our best. And if any of you have a suggestion
00:16:42.483 --> 00:16:46.065
that we can implement to improve the process, you're welcome to share with us.
00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:52.058
Again, our phone number is 340-773-1021 on St. Croix. And then St.
00:16:52.058 --> 00:16:56.084
Thomas is 340-774-3107.
00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:57.963
And if you want to contact us via
00:16:57.963 --> 00:17:06.563
email, it's ESVI, as in Election System of The Virgin Islands, ESVI.info@VI.gov
00:17:06.563 --> 00:17:10.593
And you can submit your suggestions or your complaints there just to give us
00:17:10.593 --> 00:17:11.869
feedback on the process.
00:17:13.506 --> 00:17:19.506
You and I were speaking about some things earlier, and that involved the distinct
00:17:19.506 --> 00:17:22.856
difference between the Election System and the Board of Elections.
00:17:22.856 --> 00:17:26.982
Can you expand a little bit on that? Because there are some people who confuse the two.
00:17:27.434 --> 00:17:31.836
So, okay, let's clarify. So the Election System of the Virgin Islands is the
00:17:31.836 --> 00:17:34.528
Board of Elections and the Office of the Supervisor combined.
00:17:35.010 --> 00:17:40.251
And then the Board of Elections is the policy arm of the election system.
00:17:40.594 --> 00:17:45.621
And then the Office of the Supervisor is the one who runs the day-to-day of the operation.
00:17:45.981 --> 00:17:49.406
So the chairman of the board is Mr. Raymond J. Williams, and then the supervisor
00:17:49.406 --> 00:17:50.834
of election is Caroline Fawkes.
00:17:51.229 --> 00:17:53.858
So think about it as the executive and legislative branch.
00:17:54.770 --> 00:17:58.746
The Board of Elections is the legislative branch of the Election System and then,
00:17:59.646 --> 00:18:02.740
the Office of the Supervisor is the executive branch of the Election System.
00:18:03.106 --> 00:18:06.166
So if you want to look at it that way, because the board is the one who's going
00:18:06.166 --> 00:18:10.756
to promulgate rules, conduct hearings for election matters, and then the supervisor
00:18:10.756 --> 00:18:15.196
of election runs the day-to-day office with our amazing team members.
00:18:15.196 --> 00:18:19.540
We're a smart staff of individuals that is tasked with doing a herculean job,
00:18:19.882 --> 00:18:24.002
but we do it very well, and we're very excited about completing those tasks.
00:18:25.144 --> 00:18:29.354
That's good to hear, but can you go in a little further? Because sometimes you
00:18:29.354 --> 00:18:33.782
go to vote, and you see people out there counting or people moving folks around.
00:18:34.461 --> 00:18:37.994
What's the distinct difference between somebody who's on the board and somebody
00:18:37.994 --> 00:18:42.184
who is actually in the day-to-day operations of the election? Okay, great.
00:18:42.504 --> 00:18:46.964
So the board, again, is the policymaking ones. They're more there for setting
00:18:46.964 --> 00:18:53.184
policies, testing of the machines, conducting hearings, the supervisor of elections.
00:18:53.624 --> 00:18:55.291
We run the day-to-day office.
00:18:56.882 --> 00:19:00.944
Both arms conduct voter registration. The board will do voter registration outside
00:19:00.944 --> 00:19:05.502
of the office, and then the office staff will do voter registration inside of the office.
00:19:05.891 --> 00:19:11.584
And the Supervisor of Elections conducts the campaign finances and voter registration,
00:19:11.904 --> 00:19:14.078
absentee ballots, the board would count absentee ballots.
00:19:14.780 --> 00:19:18.281
And then we hire the office supervisor to conduct the election because our law
00:19:18.281 --> 00:19:21.471
was changed towards the end of 2024.
00:19:21.471 --> 00:19:25.041
So we conduct the election. So we train the election officials and the election
00:19:25.041 --> 00:19:28.081
officials are the poll workers who work at the voting center.
00:19:28.081 --> 00:19:33.819
So we do hire staff of individuals to come out, to work to assist the voting process.
00:19:34.323 --> 00:19:37.421
And then we train them, and then we compute the results, and then we submit back
00:19:37.421 --> 00:19:39.133
the results to the Board of Elections.
00:19:39.573 --> 00:19:44.621
So, in case there is an issue with the results, you can contact the Board
00:19:44.621 --> 00:19:48.948
of Elections, and in the Board of Elections, we can schedule a hearing to determine
00:19:49.081 --> 00:19:52.831
if there was
any issue prior to taking the situation to court.
00:19:53.482 --> 00:19:59.841
I'm happy you mentioned that because the event that we have scheduled for August 12th and 13th,
00:19:59.841 --> 00:20:04.591
St. Croix and St. Thomas, we had to go to the Board of Elections to have that because
00:20:04.591 --> 00:20:08.241
they would do the external registry. Yes, because that will be outside of the
00:20:08.241 --> 00:20:14.005
office registration and machine demonstration. So the board will be there conducting those events.
00:20:14.352 --> 00:20:19.251
And lucky for you guys, you're holding the event in the Sunny Isle Shopping Center.
00:20:20.011 --> 00:20:25.021
So voters would have access to the office. So then if they do do a registration
00:20:25.021 --> 00:20:28.331
outside of the office, then you come into the office and get their voter ID
00:20:28.331 --> 00:20:30.142
right away to complete the process. Yes.
00:20:31.535 --> 00:20:37.360
What for you would constitute a good day for the election system?
00:20:39.749 --> 00:20:43.435
Just a voter being able to cast the ballot free of any issues.
00:20:43.435 --> 00:20:45.277
So yesterday we had a very great day.
00:20:45.607 --> 00:20:50.420
We had 509 voters who actually did that in the St. Croix District and 468,
00:20:53.435 --> 00:20:57.315
in the St. Thomas. In St. Thomas, St. John. And then three in St.
00:20:57.315 --> 00:21:00.751
John. So that was actually a good day. Just a voter being able to cast the ballot
00:21:01.152 --> 00:21:03.555
without any issue. That I consider that a good day.
00:21:04.461 --> 00:21:10.765
I know we've been talking a little bit more on the preliminary or those elections
00:21:10.765 --> 00:21:12.444
for the Democratic candidates.
00:21:12.873 --> 00:21:17.703
Can you expand a little bit more when we get into the general election,
00:21:18.232 --> 00:21:22.135
some of the things that voters need to be aware of in terms of some of the dates,
00:21:22.135 --> 00:21:26.845
if you have that, and some of the requirements that they may need, or the fact
00:21:26.845 --> 00:21:28.436
that they can still register to vote?
00:21:28.657 --> 00:21:32.395
Correct. So the first step, if you want to take part in the voter registration
00:21:32.395 --> 00:21:36.515
process, I mean, in the 2026 general election, the first you have
00:21:36.515 --> 00:21:38.177
to make sure that you are registered to vote,
00:21:39.692 --> 00:21:45.201
You can contact our offices, send queries against 340-773-1021.
00:21:49.456 --> 00:21:49.795
Send time to us at 340-774-3107,
00:21:51.895 --> 00:21:53.920
to find out your status, or you can even visit our website via VOTE.Gov
00:21:55.066 --> 00:21:58.383
and you can look up your voter registration status,
00:21:58.848 --> 00:22:02.656
though that will be the first step in the registration process registration
00:22:02.656 --> 00:22:07.426
opens back after the primary on August 6 and it ends on October 4th. October
00:22:07.426 --> 00:22:13.684
4th is a Sunday, and the office will be open, and that Sunday, I think will be open from 12 p.m
00:22:14.107 --> 00:22:18.668
to 3 p.m., and then you could still again do the voter registration online,
00:22:19.254 --> 00:22:25.443
via vote.gov/registration. That process will be open until October 2nd at 5 p.m,
00:22:25.913 --> 00:22:29.436
and then you can't do anything else after October 2nd for the online voter registration
00:22:29.436 --> 00:22:33.896
you'd have to come into the office to complete the process. After we complete
00:22:33.896 --> 00:22:36.465
registration, we move directly into
00:22:37.227 --> 00:22:41.606
early voting. Early voting is scheduled to begin less than two weeks after we
00:22:41.606 --> 00:22:46.746
close registration. It's supposed to begin on a Friday, October 16th, on St. Croix
00:22:46.746 --> 00:22:51.147
and St. Thomas, and it runs from October 16th to the 31st,
00:22:51.594 --> 00:22:54.207
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
00:22:54.658 --> 00:22:58.815
And for St. John, it'll be a reduced number of days.
00:22:59.506 --> 00:23:02.536
I don't think we have settled on the correct number of days for St.
00:23:02.536 --> 00:23:05.612
John, but the hours on St. John will be 9 to 4.
00:23:05.943 --> 00:23:09.146
But it will end through one for St. John; it will end on the 31st,
00:23:09.146 --> 00:23:10.303
like St. Croix and St. Thomas.
00:23:10.686 --> 00:23:14.050
So voters are encouraged to - one, first: learn your status.
00:23:14.427 --> 00:23:18.699
And then, we have the General Election, which is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd.
00:23:19.036 --> 00:23:20.486
Voting centers will open at
00:23:20.486 --> 00:23:26.089
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. I could specifically speak on the district of St. Croix.
00:23:27.006 --> 00:23:30.926
The voting centers on St. Croix are from East Queen to Frederiksted. We have D.C.
00:23:30.926 --> 00:23:37.424
Canegata Recreation Center, St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church Auditorium,
00:23:37.649 --> 00:23:40.456
I mean, School Auditorium, St.
00:23:40.456 --> 00:23:45.766
Croix Central High Modular Gymnasium, St. Joseph Church Hospitality Lounge,
00:23:46.056 --> 00:23:49.466
and the Claudio Marco Elementary School in Frederiksted.
00:23:49.727 --> 00:23:51.810
So we'll have five voter centers open up.
00:23:52.170 --> 00:23:55.479
During early voting, the locations will be at our offices,
00:23:56.482 --> 00:24:00.298
From October 16th to the 31st on St. Croix and St. Thomas, we're located in the
00:24:00.298 --> 00:24:03.978
Sunny Isle Shopping Center, former movie theater location, and in St.
00:24:03.978 --> 00:24:07.163
Thomas is above Lockhart Gardens.
00:24:08.208 --> 00:24:11.321
Here you have it. You are encouraged to vote early.
00:24:11.569 --> 00:24:14.998
That's what I'm hearing from you, right? Yes. But we love to promote early voting,
00:24:14.998 --> 00:24:17.860
help us get our numbers up there.
00:24:18.948 --> 00:24:22.378
It's quick, and it's easy. The average person they take no more than 10 minutes.
00:24:22.378 --> 00:24:25.593
So I'm real proud of the job the staff did on the first day.
00:24:26.908 --> 00:24:33.660
For example, we had 47 individuals being checked in within the first 17 minutes of early voting.
00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:37.699
That's amazing. Yes, that's how quick the process is.
00:24:38.030 --> 00:24:42.625
And I believe by 9.30, all voters - those 47 voters were all out of the
00:24:42.625 --> 00:24:47.235
office by 9.30 in the St. Croix District. So kudos to the staff. Job well done.
00:24:47.583 --> 00:24:51.786
I was very excited about it. And then we ended the day with 509 voters.
00:24:52.377 --> 00:24:56.881
Well, thank you, Terrell. I could call you that because I've known you for so long.
00:24:58.005 --> 00:25:02.485
Thank you for coming by. I appreciate the time. I know you have an event,
00:25:02.825 --> 00:25:04.945
September the 19th? Yes.
00:25:05.265 --> 00:25:09.075
And that's at your Sunny Isle location? Yes, it'll be on all three islands.
00:25:09.075 --> 00:25:12.118
Okay, so you have it on St. Thomas as well. Is it the same day?
00:25:12.344 --> 00:25:17.455
Yeah, it'll all be on the same day, September 19th, with the 2026 Elections Expo.
00:25:17.455 --> 00:25:22.005
That ties in with the National Voter Registration Day. That's our last effort
00:25:22.005 --> 00:25:27.541
to try and encourage voter registration before the 2026 General Election.
00:25:27.913 --> 00:25:32.185
You have to be registered to vote in order to take part in the 2026 General
00:25:32.185 --> 00:25:34.545
Election. So once you're registered,
00:25:35.285 --> 00:25:39.659
are registered to vote. So we thank you for inviting us to your show,
00:25:39.938 --> 00:25:42.905
and we look forward to coming out to your show, and, again if anybody has any
00:25:42.905 --> 00:25:48.965
concerns, and then also reach out to our office. Our office in St. Croix is 340-773-1021
00:25:48.965 --> 00:25:57.705
St. Croix and St. Thomas is 340-774-3107, and email is esvi.info@vi.gov and
00:25:57.705 --> 00:26:01.295
our website is vivote.gov So thank you very much, and we wish you well on the
00:26:01.295 --> 00:26:02.466
work you do for our community.
00:26:02.837 --> 00:26:07.011
Thank you. Thank you for coming out. We really appreciate it. No problem.
00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:18.635
The views expressed on this program are not necessarily those of WTJX,
00:26:18.635 --> 00:26:21.176
its boards, staff, or underwriters.