The Commonwealth Election Commission will hold an administrative hearing Thursday on a residency challenge in the Northern Islands mayoral race after hiring attorney Sean Frink as its legal counsel for the 2026 election cycle, Executive Director Kayla Igitol Magofna said Monday.
Magofna said the legal services contract cleared procurement late last week. “We were able to get the contract out of procurement. I believe it was Thursday last week,” she said. “Our attorney that we hired was Sean Frink. And the terms for that will be the duration of the election cycle.”
With counsel now in place, the commission scheduled the administrative proceedings for Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at the CEC conference room. The challenge was filed by incumbent Northern Islands Mayor Valentino Taisacan against candidate Keli Tenorio, who is seeking the same office.
Magofna said both candidates were notified and confirmed Tenorio is a registered Northern Islands voter.
CEC records show 179 registered voters for the Northern Islands. Magofna said Northern Islands residents living on Saipan may vote through early voting, though CEC also sends staff to the islands during election periods.
Magofna said the CNMI now has 18,180 registered voters, with both new voters and returning voters updating their information. She expects another 200 to 300 registrations before the cutoff.
CEC has certified 73 of 75 candidates for the general election.
