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'Concerns' over No Advance Polling Stations on JvD & Anegada

- Seventh District voters to cast ballot @ HLSCC Resource Centre in Paraquita Bay
There will be 9 stations for Advance Polling for the 2023 General Elections; however, there will be none on Anegada and Jost van Dyke. Photo: GIS/File
The List of Advance Polling Stations. Supervisor of Elections Ms Scherrie N. Griffin said voters are expected to vote in the polling division to which they are assigned based on their geographic location within their district. Photo: GIS/File
The List of Advance Polling Stations. Supervisor of Elections Ms Scherrie N. Griffin said voters are expected to vote in the polling division to which they are assigned based on their geographic location within their district. Photo: GIS/File
The list of Polling Day Stations. Photo: GIS
The list of Polling Day Stations. Photo: GIS
THE SETTLEMENT, Anegada, VI- The Office of the Supervisor of Elections has released the list of approved polling stations for the 2023 General Elections.

There will be 9 stations for Advance Polling and 19 stations available on Polling Day for the electorate to cast their ballots.

Supervisor of Elections Ms Scherrie N. Griffin said voters are expected to vote in the polling division to which they are assigned based on their geographic location within their district.

Notably, there will be no Advance Polling Station on Jost van Dyke and Anegada.

Some persons have called our newsroom to express their concern about that since, according to them, the elderly and physically incapacitated persons on Jost van Dyke and Anegada will have to travel to Tortola and Virgin Gorda respectively to vote and this can be a “real challenge.”

It is unclear why no stations for Advanced Polling were made available on the two sister islands, although the same arrangement existed for the February 2019 General Elections.

In 2015; however, Advance Polling Stations were made available on Anegada and Jost van Dyke.

Who is eligible for Advance Polling?

Voters eligible to participate in advanced polling, usually held about 4 days before Election Day, include police officers, inmates, election officials, the elderly (70 years or older), illiterate and/or physically incapacitated persons, and persons travelling in advance of the general election.

A date for General Elections has not yet been announced in the Virgin Islands.

The House of Assembly is slated to be dissolved today, March 10, 2023, and elections are then expected no later than May 12, 2023.

D7 voters to cast ballot @ Paraquita Bay

Meanwhile, Territorial At Large Representative Hon Carvin Malone, during the debate on the Elections (Amendment) Act 2023, at the Continuation of the Fourth Sitting of the Fifth Session of the Fourth House of Assembly in Road Town today, March 10, 2023, expressed some concern that the polling station for the Seventh District will be at HLSCC Resource Centre in Paraquita Bay rather than the usual location, the Methodist Church in Long Look.

Seventh District Representative and Premier Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley also said he noted the same thing and was intending to have the matter addressed at another forum.

4 Responses to “'Concerns' over No Advance Polling Stations on JvD & Anegada”

  • school child (10/03/2023, 17:35) Like (10) Dislike (1) Reply
    Anegada not Jost Van Dyke voting list are not that huge and can vote on election date.. All of them can be done on the day of elections. It has been done in previous elections. What is the difference this election year? Has the population increased that drastic? They don't have to travel to vote in the advance polls. It is not necessary. They can vote on election day on Anegada and Jost Van Dyke
    • Outspoken (11/03/2023, 10:16) Like (4) Dislike (0) Reply
      @School child, I am in total agreement with you. And if there are people who are desirous of doing advanced voting, arrangements can easily be made to get them to the advanced stations
  • Quiet Storm (11/03/2023, 11:11) Like (1) Dislike (4) Reply
    The more things change the more things stay the same. The outlying sister islands have always been neglected and forgotten and not even given an after thought. What is good for the Main land, the big shark, is not good for the small fry. What is good for the goose is not good for the gander. Was it an oversight of not providing advanced polling for sister islands? Perhaps. But history tells us otherwise. The class division is a problem for the BVI.
    • school child (11/03/2023, 13:30) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
      I agree with you that the outer islands are over neglected but in this circumstance, why do advance voting for Anegada and Jost Van Dyke as their voters are not over 300? Those polls close before the others in order to get the relevant information back to Town in time to commence the count. There is a time and a place when comments are due, in this one it is straight forward. THEY DON"T NEED ADVANCE POLING!!!!


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