The elections office will open on Saturdays to encourage people to register to vote.
From the first Saturday in October until the holidays at the end of this year, a registering officer will be on hand to receive applications between 10am and 2pm.
‘People say it’s difficult to come here during the week because of the parking problem,’ Supervisor of Elections Kearney Gomez explained.
To meet this difficulty, he has arranged for the five registering officers in Grand Cayman to be present, on a rotation basis, along with Elections Office support staff.
Mr. Gomez emphasised the need not to wait until an election is imminent before registering.
If, for example, Government called for a referendum in May or June of 2008, only people on the voters list as of 1 April, 2008, could vote. In order to be on the 1 April list, a person must have registered by 1 January.
‘We will set up in the lobby on the ground floor, to make things even easier,’ he said. The elections office is on the fourth floor of Kirk House on Albert Panton Street in downtown George Town. Entrance to the lobby is on the side of the building across from Cayman Drug.
‘All of the registering officers are well experienced, some with over 25 years of experience,’ Mr. Gomez said. They will be able to answer questions.
They will also vouch for original documents an applicant brings. Staff will have a photocopier on hand so that copies can be made of the documents, such as birth certificate, certificate of status/ naturalisation, and the originals returned immediately.
The registering officer will then pass the papers on to the officer for the district in which the applicant lives. The district officer approves the application.
The documents required for voter registration differ according to an individual’s circumstances, but they are explained on the Elections Law Form 4. This form can be obtained in advance at any post office or downloaded from the elections office website www.electionsoffice.ky
The registering officers will also be able to assist people who are already registered to vote but who need to apply for a change in their listing. The change might be their name (for example, a woman recently married), their occupation (people who have changed jobs), or address (people who have moved to another residence).
Change of address is especially important, Mr. Gomez emphasised, because it could affect the district in which the person votes.
People displaced after Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 were allowed to vote in their registered district of residence even though they may have had to move temporarily. But most people have rebuilt or repaired their homes by now or have settled into another home. Mr. Gomez urged everyone affected to get their address regularised.
Registering officers have the right to remove anyone from the Register of Electors (the official name for the voters list) if they know that the person is no longer residing at a given address. Registering officers can be prosecuted for leaving someone on the voters list if they know of people no longer living at registered addresses.
The registering officers in Grand Cayman are Darlene Owens-Elliott, West Bay; Kathryn Myles, George Town; Kerry Nixon, Bodden Town; Vernicia Watler, East End; and Patricia Ebanks, North Side.
In Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Registering Officer Georgene Lazzari may be contacted at her home.
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