A steady stream of voters lined up Tuesday at the Multi-Purpose Center on Saipan as early voting for the 2026 CNMI general election got underway across the Commonwealth, kicking off a seven-day advance voting period ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Early voting is being conducted on Saipan, Tinian and Rota, giving voters an opportunity to cast ballots before Election Day. On Saipan, voting is taking place at the Multi-Purpose Center, while Tinian voters may vote at the Tinian Youth Center and Rota voters at Northern Marianas College Room B-2.
Commonwealth Election Commission Executive Director Kayla Igitol Magofna said election officials are prepared for what is expected to be a busy election season and are also developing contingency plans should any race require a runoff election.
"Yes, still we're doing that," Magofna said when asked whether the commission is preparing for a possible runoff.
Under Commonwealth law, a runoff election may be required if no candidate secures the vote threshold necessary for an outright victory. Election officials say the possibility remains particularly significant in the gubernatorial and attorney general races.
The gubernatorial contest featured former Gov. Ralph Torres and running mate Benjamin Jones Jr. against independent tickets headed by Rep. Jonathan "BJ" Attao and House Speaker Edmund Villagomez, as well as former Education Commissioner Lawrence Camacho and former Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero.
Meanwhile, attorneys Joaquin "Jack" Torres, Jonathan "Robbie" Glass and Michael Evangelista are competing in the attorney general race, which will determine only the second elected attorney general in CNMI history.
Magofna said ballots cast during the general election will be tabulated using voting machines. If a runoff becomes necessary, however, election officials may hand-count ballots because runoff ballots likely would be printed locally.
"The hand counting, we probably will do that during the runoff because we're probably going to print runoff ballots on the island," she said.
Election officials are also reminding voters to bring valid identification, complete the required early-voting application and carefully review both sides of their ballots before casting them.
As of Sept. 19, the Commonwealth had 18,521 registered voters eligible to participate in the election.
Key election dates include the early voting period from Oct. 27 through Nov. 2 and General Election Day on Nov. 3. A runoff election will be scheduled following certification of results if required under Commonwealth election law.
