GuamBill No. 190-38 (COR)38th Guam Legislature (2025-2026)legislature

AN ACT TO ADD A NEW CHAPTER 5 TO TITLE 6 OF THE GUAM ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS, RELATIVE TO ADOPTING THE UPDATED GUAM ELECTION MANUAL, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 9, TITLE 5, GUAM CODE ANNOTATED.

Sponsored By: Telo T. Taitague (Republican)

Became Law

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

18 provisions identified: 11 benefits, 4 costs, 3 mixed.

Easier voter registration and online sign-up

You can pre-register at age 16; it becomes active on your 18th birthday. You can register at the GEC, village mayor offices, public schools and colleges, the DMV, or online with a Guam driver’s license or Guam ID. Online registration closes 21 days before an election; the last day to register is 15 days before. Offices stay open until 8:00 p.m. during the 21‑day district window. Your voting residence is where you live 30+ days and intend to return, and you cannot change districts between the Primary and General. Online applicants swear under penalty of perjury and let GEC use the DMV signature; GEC confirms your status and posts deadlines. Registration is permanent unless the GEC cancels it. Volunteer registrars must stop 21 days before an election and return supplies or face referral to the Attorney General.

Guam adopts one election manual

The law adopts a single, updated Guam Election Manual. It sets the official rules for voter registration, ballots, voting, counting, and enforcement. The Guam Election Commission and all election officials, candidates, and committees must follow it.

How to file election complaints

You must sign complaints under penalty of perjury. If you allege a federal law violation, include a notary’s certificate that verifies your identity and signature. The Election Commission keeps a full record, including the complaint, responses, evidence, reports, audio or transcripts, and the final decision.

More ways to vote early or absentee

You can vote absentee for reasons like travel, illness or disability, military service, government or federal work, school, or as a spouse. Early in‑office voting happens from 30 to 5 days before an election; the GEC posts locations and times and keeps a voter log. The absentee application also serves as your registration if you are not yet registered. The GEC accepts sealed absentee ballots until 5:00 p.m. on the 10th day after the election. Online absentee ballots that machines cannot read are replicated and counted using damaged‑ballot rules.

Provisional ballots and voter challenges

Before issuing a provisional ballot, officials must check voter lists and try to contact the Election Commission. If they cannot reach headquarters, they must log the attempt before issuing the ballot. For challenges, the leader swears in the challenger, the voter, and witnesses, and uses Forms EC-14 and EC-14A. The precinct board must decide before polls close. The voter or challenger may appeal to the Commission the same day, and then to the Superior Court.

Recounts, complaints, and final certification

If a race is within 2%, the GEC must recount and make the result public. For non‑primary elections, the GEC waits to certify until it decides complaints or contests raised within 15 days. Right after certification, the GEC declares the highest vote‑getters elected. The GEC issues Certificates of Election, gives the original to the winner, and keeps a copy for five years. Anyone may file an administrative complaint within 60 days of the event, or within 90 days of learning about it; on Election Day, precincts must offer and secure the complaint form and notify GEC headquarters.

Rules for poll workers and sites

Poll workers must be district voters, read and write English, avoid conflicts, and take an oath. They must arrive by 6:00 a.m.; polls open at 7:00 a.m. Polls close at 8:00 p.m., but anyone in line at 8:00 p.m. can vote. Workers must wear ID badges. Electioneering is banned within 100 feet of any polling place entrance or exit.

Set election dates and disaster delays

The Primary is the first Saturday of August in even years. The General is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even years. Any runoff happens 14 days after the election that caused it. For a disaster or attack, the Governor or Legislature, after the Commission’s recommendation, may postpone an election by up to 30 days. Special elections require a proclamation at least 30 days ahead with the date, time, and offices.

Stronger ballot security and counting

Each precinct receives two ballot boxes and a sealed supply box; officials must inventory items on GEC forms. Empty boxes are shown to voters, then locked and kept on site until polls close. Buses, not private cars, carry officials and ballots to the Return Center; five officials ride with the box and a police escort. Only GEC officials unlock boxes and process Form EC-42. Precincts must account for all ballots, seal spoiled and unused ballots on Form EC-13, and return all materials. Only affirmed ballots are counted on Election Night. Damaged ballots are replicated by a bipartisan panel with Legal Counsel logging each one. After duties end, officials must transfer custody of all ballots and supplies to the Commission.

Stronger ballot security and records rules

The GEC tracks absentee ballots received, used, unused, and spoiled for off‑island, homebound, and in‑office voting. Every ballot or supply box must have a transfer record; the precinct leader must inventory and note any differences at delivery. Polling places must post required signs, set a six‑foot barrier, and show the locked ballot box before voting starts. The GEC publishes how many ballots were ordered, printed, used, kept, and destroyed. The GEC keeps all ballots and rosters for five years and releases them only with a court order and receipt.

Who can register to vote

You can register if you are a U.S. citizen, will be 18 by Election Day, and live in Guam. You cannot register if you are confined for mental health reasons or have been declared insane. You also cannot be under a sentence of imprisonment.

Campaign groups must file after $250

Candidates, committees, and parties must file an organizational report by the day they file to run. You also must file within 10 days after getting more than $250 in contributions or spending more than $250 for the next campaign.

Candidate petitions and money disclosures

Only registered electors may sign nominating petitions. You cannot sign more petitions for the same office than the number of seats, or sign another person’s name. Covered candidates and officials must file a Statement of Assets and Liabilities for themselves, their spouse, and dependents, and sign under penalty of perjury.

Utilities candidates face nonpartisan limits

To run for the utilities commission, you must be a registered Guam voter, be at least 25, and have five years of Guam residency. You cannot identify with a political party in your campaign or accept party endorsements or material support. You also cannot serve as a commissioner while employed by the Waterworks Authority, Power Authority, Public Utilities Commission, or as an unclassified or contracted government employee.

Who can run for top offices

The law sets qualifications to run for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Delegate, Attorney General, Public Auditor, and the Education Board. Age and residency rules apply, such as 30 years old to take office as Governor or AG and five years of Guam residency for several offices. Felony and certain misdemeanor convictions bar candidacy. The AG and Public Auditor races are nonpartisan and require specific professional credentials. Delegate candidates must be at least 25, U.S. citizens for seven years, live in the territory, and cannot run for another office at the same time.

How to qualify and run for office

The GEC publishes candidate names after filing deadlines. Filing closes 90 days before the Primary for governor/lieutenant governor, senators, the Washington delegate, and mayors/vice‑mayors, and 90 days before the General for the public auditor, attorney general, education board, and utilities commissioners. Nominating signatures: 500 for governor/lieutenant governor and the Washington delegate, 250 for senator, 100 for mayor or vice‑mayor, and 150 for the education board; some offices (public auditor, attorney general, utilities) do not need signatures. Petition circulators must certify signatures were made in their presence by registered Guam voters. Candidate eligibility rules include residency and age (e.g., senator: 5‑year Guam resident, age 30 at taking office; mayor/vice‑mayor: age 21 and 1‑year residency in the village) and bar certain convictions. The GEC must publish a true sample ballot at least 20 days before the election.

ID checks, challenges, and provisional ballots

Precinct rosters list your name, birth date, address, and signature, and may be on a secure device. Clerks ask for a government photo ID and check it against the roster. If your eligibility is unclear, you can cast a provisional ballot; the GEC counts all races you were eligible for, and counts it if your registration is valid within 10 days. People may challenge a voter for specific reasons, like not being a U.S. citizen, not living in the precinct, or already voting. Write‑in votes count only if you also mark the oval or space next to the name.

Voter registrars: rules, training, pay

Registrars must be Guam voters, stay neutral, attend 2 hours of training, and pass a test. District registrars serve from 21 days before an election to 15 days before; volunteers stop 21 days before. They take an oath, must follow procedures, and can be dismissed for errors or registering ineligible people. The Commission must appoint at least one clerk per district and can deputize up to five volunteers per group per election. Registrar pay is at least 1.5 times the minimum wage. Homebound voting officials must meet similar qualifications and training.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Telo T. Taitague
Republican • legislature

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 0 • No: 0

legislature vote • 12/5/2025

Floor Vote