electoraloffice.gov.dm How to Register to Vote : Electoral Office Dominica

Organisation : Electoral Office
Facility : How to Register to Vote
Country : Dominica

How to Register to Vote : http://electoraloffice.gov.dm/registration-2/regulations-pertaining-to-the-registration-of-electors-4
Home Page : http://electoraloffice.gov.dm/

How to Register to Vote :
** Registration is required in order to vote at Council Elections or at Elections of Representatives of the House of Assembly (General Elections). The following are the requirements for registration

** Ensure that you are qualified to be registered

Go to the Registering Officer or the Assistant Registering Officer in your Polling District with:
** A birth certificate, passport or other form of pictorial identification which shows your date of birth; and
** A witness (mother, father, brother, sister, friend, neighbor) who is already registered as an elector in the same Polling District for which you are applying for register.

** Complete a Notice of Claim form. The form must be signed by you and your witness.

** The Registering Officer or Assistant Registering Officer will give you an original Certificate of Application for Registration as proof that you have applied for registration.

** To verify that your name has been included on the voters’ list, go the Registering Officer or Assistant Registering Officer in your Polling District or check the list posted in your community.

How to vote :
** Persons must be physically present at the polling station to vote – there are no absentee votes.

** Electors who are blind or otherwise physically incapacitated are entitled to vote with the assistance of the Presiding Officer or another person qualified to assist.

** Each Elector may vote at one polling station and for only one candidate.

Procedure for voting :
** The Elector enters the Polling Station and declares his/her name name, address and occupation.

** The Poll Clerk then checks the Official Elector’s List to ascertain the Elector’s name appears thereon.

** When it is determined that the Elector is qualified to vote at that Polling Station, the Poll Clerk enters the Elector’s name etc. in the Poll Book.

** The Presiding Officer inspects the appropriate digit of the Elector; where there appears to be the presence of indelible “ink”, the Presiding Officer will question that Elector, and if the Elector fails to answer, he/she will not be given a ballot paper.

** On receiving a ballot, the Elector will be instructed on how to mark the ballot paper, then asked to dip the appropriate digit in indelible ink.

** The Elector goes into the Polling Booth/Room and uses the black lead pencil provided and places a cross (X) within the space containing the name of the candidate for whom he votes.

** The Elector folds the ballot paper so that the initials of the presiding officer and the number of the counterfoil can be seen and the counterfoil detached without opening the ballot paper.

** The Elector returns the ballot paper so folded to the presiding officer who shall in full view of those present, including the elector, remove the counterfoil and place the ballot paper in a ballot box.

** The Elector will then forthwith quit the polling station.

** If an Elector inadvertently spoils a ballot paper he may return it to the presiding officer who on being satisfied of the fact will give him another.

** If an Elector votes for more than one candidate or places any mark on the ballot paper by which he can afterwards be identified, his vote will be void and will not be counted.

Registered Voters :
A person who is registered remains registered unless his name is deleted from the register because:
** he has died;
** an objection to his registration has been allowed;
** he has been absent from Dominica for a period exceeding five years; or
** he has become disqualified for registration as an elector.

Registered persons should check the Election Register (Voters’ List) prior to Election Day to ensure that they are registered. The Election Register is available at various locations in Polling Districts and at the homes of the Registering Officers for Constituencies and Assistant Registering Officers for Polling Districts.

Who Can Register to Vote? :
Qualified persons :
A person is qualified to be registered as an elector for a polling district if he/she :
** is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Dominica or

** is a citizen of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations who has resided in Dominica for a period of twelve (12) months immediately before the qualifying date; and

** is eighteen (18) years of age or over;

** has resided in that polling district for a continuous period of at least three months immediately preceding the date of registration. The residence qualification does not apply to persons who have attained the age of eighteen years within the period of three months immediately preceding the date of registration.

A person can only be registered as an elector for one polling district at a time.

A person who is registered as an elector in a polling district but no longer resides in that polling district is qualified to be registered in that district until he/she becomes qualified to be registered as an elector in another polling district.

Disqualified persons :
A person is disqualified from being registered as an elector if he/she :
** is found or declared to be of unsound mind or a patient at an institution primarily for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from mental illness;

** is undergoing any sentence of imprisonment in Dominica;

** is under sentence of death imposed on him by a court in any part of the Commonwealth or under sentence of imprisonment exceeding twelve months which has not been served or been pardoned for;

** is disqualified by written law for registration as an elector.

When Can I Register to Vote? :
Registration of voters is continuous – you can register to vote at any time. The deadline for registration for inclusion in the election register is the day that the President issues the writ for holding of General Election. Persons registering after this date will be included on the election register for the next General Election.