Governor’s legal counsel says all registered voters should decide on NMI land rule

032608 Variety News Staff

THE governor’s special legal counsel, Howard P. Willens, says all registered voters in the Northern Marianas should be allowed to vote on a proposed legislative initiative that would change the leasehold on private properties from 55 to 75 years to prevent possible litigation.

Willens told Gov. Benigno R. Fitial that the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens would be violated if they are denied the right to cast their votes in the legislative process that seeks to amend Article XII of the CNMI Constitution.

According to Commonwealth Election Commission Executive Director Gregorio Sablan, “We have been wrestling with this issue for eight years now and we’re very pleased that it is finally receiving the urgent attention it deserves.”

Some sectors in the local community believe the right to vote on the islands’ land rule should be limited to people of Northern Marianas descent.

But this may be a violation of the constitutional rights of voters who are non-locals, Willens said.

“The CNMI government lawyers who have considered this question have concluded that Article XVIII (5) of the CNMI Constitution would be held to violate the United States Constitution if challenged in court. The Supreme Court’s rulings on limitations on voting based on the Equal Protection Clause discussed in this memorandum are unambiguous and decisive,” Willens said in his 13-page legal opinion.

“If the court were to address the other contentions discussed in this memorandum and likely to be raised in any lawsuit, we believe that there is substantial risk that the court would also conclude that the restrictions violate the Fifteenth Amendment or the privileges and immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” he added.

Willens cited numerous cases heard by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court as basis of his legal opinion.

A special election has been proposed for April 19 so that the voters can decide whether they want to change their islands’ leasehold term rule from 55 to 75 years.

House Legislative Initiative 16-4 proposes to amend Article XII of the CNMI Constitution.

But in order to be placed on the ballot, it should be passed by a three-fourths vote of both houses of the Legislature.