Topic: Elections Office

The Elections Office says it has signed up 1,052 new voters as canvassers go door to door to make sure every eligible voter is registered for the May 2017 general election. The total number of voters in the Cayman Islands is now 19,515, according to the Elections Office.

Facing pressure from one of its ministers, as well as from opposition politicians, the Progressives-led government on Friday appeared ready to abandon efforts to legally force the registration of groups believed to be operating as political parties before the May 2017 general election.

Although the tracking of open records requests made to the Cayman Islands government has improved in the last two years, there are still a number of high-profile authorities that are not able to keep track of those requests as required by law.

Allegations of voter disenfranchisement, potentially affecting hundreds of Caymanians who reside overseas, have been made to the local Human Rights Commission in a complaint filed on Sept. 23. The case involves a Cayman Islands voter who went to court on Sept. 12 to challenge a decision by the Elections Office in 2012.

Caymanians who register to vote in the territory may not be allowed to maintain that voting status, depending on their place of residence, according to a recent ruling from the electoral revising officer.

Bethany Powery-Ebanks has been appointed the new registering officer for West Bay by the Elections Office.

From Aug. 27, election workers will begin knocking on doors across the Cayman Islands to register new voters and verify existing registrations.

The Elections Office expects to spend more than $1 million on a national voter information and registration campaign ahead of the 2017 general election.

Senior Crown Counsel Suzanne Bothwell will take over as the court administrator, in charge of management and administration of court operations, Deputy Governor Franz Manderson announced this week.