Turnout of 9 percent causes ballot measure to fail
Initiative and referendum is available in some United States territories - and this year we’ve been paying attention to one in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Last Saturday, a ballot initiative there failed despite winning 75 percent of the vote because turnout did not reach the required 50 percent threshold. The initiative would have changed the apportionment of the territory's legislature.
The USVI territorial legislature is unlike state legislatures, which divide districts between areas based on population. The USVI territorial legislature divides districts based on island area with no reference to population.
Currently, the 15-member legislature consists of two seven-member districts and one at-large member. Voters select their preferred candidate from a list, and the top seven vote-getters in the multi-member districts are elected. One of the seven-member districts represents the island of St. Croix, and the other seven-member district represents the islands of St. Thomas and St. John. One additional legislator is elected at large, meaning residents from across USVI vote on candidates for the seat, but the legislator must be a resident of St. John.
The measure that was voted on last weekend would have replaced the current system with four two-member districts representing each half of St. Croix and St. Thomas, one single-member district representing St. John, and six at-large members.
For a ballot initiative to pass in the USVI, a majority of registered voters must turn out to vote on it and a majority of those who turn out must approve it. With 86 percent of precincts reporting, the measure was approved by 75 percent of voters, but voter turnout was 9 percent, meaning that the measure failed.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is located in the Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico and is one of the United States' five inhabited unincorporated territories. The United States purchased the islands from Denmark in 1917, and Congress granted citizenship to U.S. Virgin Islanders in 1927. Like neighboring Puerto Rico, residents of USVI cannot vote for president and do not have a floor-voting representative in Congress. However, USVI does elect a congressional delegate, who can introduce legislation and vote in committees.
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