On June 16th, at a Town Hall meeting in St. Thomas organized by Senator Kenneth Gittens, the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands presented one portion of their recommendations for Election Reform. The League recommended that the V.I. Code be revised to require an increase in the number of signatures required to nominate an individual as a candidate for the positions of governor, senator or congressional representative. The number of required signatures should be one-half of one percent of the electorate. The League argued that when the Code was written, the size of the electorate was significantly smaller than its current size and, while 50 signatures may have been considered an appropriate number then, it no longer is. It was further proposed that the actual number would change only when the number of voters increases or decreases by at least 1000 persons.
The League further reported that it will present additional recommendations in time to meet the 30 day window set by the Supervisor of Elections, Ms. Fawkes, in order for recommendations to be submitted for consideration.