Polling places have been opened for six hours now and so far its been a peaceful and smooth process.
Some voters did express concern about voting with pencils.
One Tuala-uta voter said he asked for a pen to fill in his ballot and was told by election officials that pens were not allowed and he can only vote using a pencil.
The same voter said he was told by others that they were given a choice between a pen and a pencil where they voted.
Another voter who used to reside in Ili’ili who tried to vote in the Fagaima polling station was turned away as their name was not on the Fagaima voting rolls. T
An official told the voter she has to vote at the polling place she voted in during the last election which was Ili’ili.
The voter told the official she had to vote at Fagaima as she had moved to that area.
The official then sent her to the Election Office. Both the Fagaima and Ili’ili polling stations are in the Tualauta district.
Another voter tried to vote in Vaitogi to avoid the longer lines in Fagaima, but since he voted in Fagaima the last election, his name was not on the Vaitogi rolls and he was sent to Fagaima.
It would appear that the names on the voting roles are not the entire voting body of the island or even the district, but only those who voted at that specific polling station in the last election.
Others had a smooth experience at the polling booth.
Southseas Broadcasting General Manager Joey Cummings, said he was in an out of the polling place in about 3 minutes.
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