The St. Croix voter rolls will get slimmer this month as the V.I. Elections System concludes purging more than 3,000 dormant registrations from the books.
Every two years, the Elections System goes through a process to remove the voter registration of anyone who has not participated in the previous two general elections, explained Rupert Ross, chairman of the St. Croix Board of Elections, after the board’s meeting Wednesday morning.
The process includes written notification to the voter of the intent to cancel the dormant registration. During that time, the voter can contact the office and request that his or her registration be retained.
"Some did that," Ross said. "Not many, but a few."
After 30 days, which in this cycle came Monday, the process enters its final phase.
According to Ross, the staff physically removes the registration documents from the file, observed by at least two members of the board. The chairman showed a card that included the spot where he had signed and dated that he had observed it being removed.
The process should take a couple of weeks, he added.
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, Ross informed the board he is trying to reschedule the joint board meeting that was recessed July 12 after reported shouting and cursing marred an executive session, causing the stenographer taking minutes to leave.
Ross said he has not yet found a date the works with everyone, but that once issues are resolved the meeting will be resumed with the executive session, then move into open session for the remainder of the agenda.
Among the issues still to be resolved is finding someone to take minutes, whether to also videotape the meeting so a reporter’s transcription can be compared with the video record, if needed, and security.
