Chief Election Officer withdraws Sotoa from Dist. #1 Manu’a House race

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Election Office has printed new ballots for Representative District #1 – Manu’a, after Chief Election Officer Uiagalelei Lealofi withdrew the name of candidate Ali’itama Sotoa from the local House of Representatives race for the Nov. 08, 2022 Midterm Election.

Uiagalelei sent a letter to Sotoa last week about the decision as well as separate letters to the remaining four candidates for Manu’a District #1.

In a Sept. 27 letter to Sotoa, the Chief Election Officer wrote that: “After several efforts to secure and collect documents in order to meet your House of Representatives candidate requirement for the... Midterm Election, to no avail, I have made the decision to withdraw your name from the official ballot for Representative District #1- Manu’a, effective immediately, September 27, 2022.”

Uiagalelei’s decision leaves four candidates on the “official ballot”, for Manu’a District #1: Alumamalu Ale Filoialii, Elijah J. Leasau, Fetui Fetu Jr., and Paepaetele Mapu Jamias. All four were informed in separate letters about the new change.

“After much consideration and deliberation with the Election Office leadership team and Legal Counsel, I have come to a decision to remove Ali’itama Sotoa” from the official ballot, Uiagalelei wrote in his Sept. 30 letter, to the remaining four candidates, who were informed that “Ali’itama Sotoa has officially been removed from the ballot.”

As previously reported by Samoa News Uiagalelei had “certified as official” the candidates for the Mid-Term election, after the deadline to file a challenge against candidates had expired — which was 4:30p.m on Sept. 7.

No challenges were filed against any candidate and Sotoa’s name was on the list of certified candidates for Manu’a District #1.

Responding to Samoa News follow-up questions yesterday, Uiagalelei said that the  “Chief Election Officer has the right to disqualify any candidate even if their names were certified” as cited under the American Samoa Code Annotated Section 6.0605:

•           When a candidate dies, withdraws, or is disqualified after the close of filing and the ballots have been printed, the Chief Election Officer shall either order the candidate's name stricken from the ballot or that a notice of the disqualification, withdrawal, or death be prominently posted at the polling place on election day.

•           In no case shall the filing fee be refunded after filing. 

Since the ballots had already been printed after the candidates for mid term election were certified, Samoa News asked what would happen to the absentee ballots — local and oversees — in which electors voted for Sotoa? Additionally, will the Election Office reprint new ballots for Manu’a District #1 without Sotoa’s name?

“Even if the ballots were already printed, we can void the name of Aliitama Sotoa from the ballot,” Uiagalelei said. “So far, we've already re-printed a new ballot for Manu’a District #1 and contacted 11 people who already cast their [absentee] ballots for District #1 about the situation.”

As in past elections, all absentee ballots that are cast, are placed in locked ballot boxes and only open on Election Day for sorting. For the local House race, they are usually sorted in accordance with the Representative District and taken to the designated polling stations to be counted along with the ballots cast on election day.