[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3576 Introduced in House (IH)]
1st Session
H. R. 3576
To provide that American Samoa hold a primary election when more than 2
eligible individuals file for candidacy to be elected to the office of
Delegate representing American Samoa in the United States House of
Representatives, and to provide that active duty members of the
military be able to fully participate in Federal elections in American
Samoa.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 20, 2001
Mr. Faleomavaega introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that American Samoa hold a primary election when more than 2
eligible individuals file for candidacy to be elected to the office of
Delegate representing American Samoa in the United States House of
Representatives, and to provide that active duty members of the
military be able to fully pariticipate in Federal elections in American
Samoa.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It is in the national interest that all citizens,
including active-duty service members, be allowed to vote in
Federal elections.
(2) Since 1977, active-duty service members serving
overseas or on the United States mainland have been excluded
from fully participating and voting in both general and runoff
Federal elections in American Samoa due to several factors,
including local law that requires active duty military members
to register in person, limited air and mail service between the
U.S. mainland and American Samoa, and delays in the preparation
of new ballots in the case of runoff elections.
(3) American Samoa law requiring uniformed service voters
to register to vote in person is contrary to the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et
seq.).
(4) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
has been in effect for over 15 years, and American Samoa has
not addressed this discrepancy between Federal and territorial
law, despite notice that the discrepancy exists.
(5) It is necessary to take additional action to ensure
that the votes of uniformed voters are counted in Federal
elections conducted in American Samoa and that active duty
service members (including reservists called to active duty) do
not need to appear in person to register to vote.
(6) It is necessary to state that the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act supersedes American Samoa
law and American Samoa must comply with this Federal law.
(7) It is also in the national interest that, to the extent
possible, Members of the United States House of Representatives
and non-voting Delegates be elected in the first week of
November in even-numbered years.
(8) Since 1980, when the first election for the
Congressional Delegate from American Samoa was held, there have
been several general elections at which there was no final
resolution of who was elected as the Delegate for the next
Congress, and run-off elections were required.
(9) When the outcome of the Delegate election is not
resolved until a runoff election is held, a final determination
of who the Delegate will be is not made known until late
November.
(10) A delayed outcome may place a newly elected Delegate
in a more junior position to other Members of Congress elected
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in an
election year.
(11) When more than 2 candidates file to run for election
for the office of Delegate, holding a primary election to
reduce the number of candidates to 2 will greatly increase the
likelihood that the general election will produce a candidate
who receives a majority of the votes cast.
SEC. 2. PRIMARY ELECTION REQUIRED.
Section 2(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide that the
Territory of American Samoa be represented by a nonvoting Delegate to
the United States House of Representatives, and for other purposes'',
approved October 31, 1978 (48 U.S.C. 1732(a)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(a)''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(2) In any general election year when 3 or more eligible
individuals file by the first Tuesday of July as candidates for the
office of Delegate, a primary election shall be held on the first
Tuesday of August of that general election year. If the primary
election results in 1 candidate receiving more than 50 percent of the
votes cast, then that candidate shall be the only candidate on the
ballot for the general election for Delegate that year. If the primary
election results in no candidate receiving more than 50 percent of the
votes cast, then the 2 candidates receiving the most votes cast shall
be on the ballot for the general election year. If there is a tie for
the 2 candidates receiving the most votes, the names of the 2
candidates shall be listed on the ballot for that general election
year.
``(3) Candidates for the office of Delegate to the United States
House of Representatives must file their candidacy not later than the
first Tuesday of July each year that a general election referred to in
paragraph (1) is scheduled to be held.''.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
Section 4 of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide that the
Territory of American Samoa be represented by a nonvoting Delegate to
the United States House of Representatives, and for other purposes'',
approved October 31, 1978 (48 U.S.C. 1734), is amended by inserting
``in a general Federal election'' after ``ties between candidates''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on January 1,
2003.
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