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Northern Mariana Islands Senate

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Northern Mariana Islands Senate

Seal of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg
General information
Type:   Senate
Term limits:   None
Leadership
Senate President:   TBD
Structure
Members:  9
Length of term:   4 years
Salary:   $32,000/year
Elections
Meeting place:
CNMI Legislature Building.JPG

The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. There are nine members, three from each legislative district.[1] Each member represents an average of 5,258 residents as of the 2020 Census.[2] Senators serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits.[3]

Party control

Current partisan control

The table below shows the partisan breakdown of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate as of September 2025:

Party As of September 2025
     Democratic Party 2
     Republican Party 3
     Other 3
     Vacancies 1
Total 9

Members

Leadership and members

Leadership of the Commonwealth Legislature
Office Representative Party
President of the Senate Dennis C. Mendiola Republican


Salaries

As of 2023, members of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature received an annual salary of $32,000.[4]

When sworn in

The Northern Mariana Islands' legislators assume office on the second Monday of January following a regularly-scheduled general election.[5]

Qualifications

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands states that a senator shall:

  • be qualified to vote in the Commonwealth;
  • be at least 25 years of age; and
  • be a resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth for at least five years immediately preceding the date on which the senator takes office.[6]

Elections

Elections by year

Northern Mariana Islands senators serve staggered four-year terms, with one- or two-thirds of senators up for election every two years. Northern Mariana Islands holds elections for its legislature every two years in even-numbered years.

2026

See also: Northern Mariana Islands Senate elections, 2026

Elections for the Northern Mariana Islands Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

2024

See also: Northern Mariana Islands Senate elections, 2024

Elections for the office of Northern Mariana Islands Senate took place in 2024. The general election was held on November 5, 2024. The filing deadline was August 7, 2024.

2022

See also: Northern Mariana Islands Senate elections, 2022

Elections for the office of Northern Mariana Islands Senate took place in 2022. The general election was held on November 8, 2022.

In the 2022 elections, the Republican majority in the chamber was reduced from 6-1 with two independents to 4-2 with three independents.

Northern Mariana Islands Senate
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 1 2
     Republican Party 6 4
     Independent 2 3
Total 9 9

2020

See also: Northern Mariana Islands Senate elections, 2020

Elections for the office of Northern Mariana Islands Senate took place in 2020. The general election was held on November 3, 2020. The filing deadline was August 5, 2020.

In the 2020 elections, the Republican majority in the chamber was reduced from 6-3 to 5-3-1.

Northern Mariana Islands Senate
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 0 1
     Republican Party 6 5
     Independent 3 3
     Vacancy 0 0
Total 9 9


Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the Senate, a special election will be held if more than half of the term remains. Otherwise, the Governor appoints the unsuccessful candidate from the previous election who received the greatest number of votes and is willing to serve. If no candidate is willing to serve, the Governor instead appoints a person qualified for office from the district with the vacancy.[7]

Sessions

Section 13 of Article II of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands contains provisions relating to the timing and length of sessions. The legislature convenes on the second Monday of January following a regularly-scheduled general election. Each house can meet for no more than 90 calendar days per year: 60 days before April 1 and 30 days after July 31.

The governor or presiding officer may call the legislature into special session for no more than ten consecutive days. The legislature may consider only subjects chosen by the governor or presiding officer in the call for a special session.[8]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Cnmilaw.org, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," accessed August 8, 2023(Article II Section 2-a)
  2. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "Population of the Northern Mariana Islands: 2010 and 2020," accessed August 7, 2023
  3. ↑ Cnmilaw.org, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," accessed August 7, 2023(Article II Section 2-b)
  4. ↑ Cnmilaw.org, "Commonwealth Code," accessed August 8, 2023 (Code 1271)
  5. ↑ Cnmilaw.org, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," accessed August 8, 2023(Article II Section 13)
  6. ↑ Cnmilaw.org, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," accessed August 8, 2023(Article II Section 2-b)
  7. ↑ Cnmilaw.org, "Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," accessed August 8, 2023(Article II Section 9)
  8. ↑ Cnmilaw.org', "Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands," accessed August 8, 2023(Article II Section 13)
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