Supervisor of Elections briefs committee as bill to clarify party primaries fails to advance

The Committee on Government Operations, Veterans' Affairs and Consumer Protection heard a detailed briefing on Friday from Caroline Fox, supervisor of elections, and Raymond J. Williams, chairman of the Board of Elections, on the operations, technology upgrades and legal challenges facing territorial elections — and debated two bills meant to clarify how political parties nominate candidates. Neither bill advanced out of committee.

Fox told the committee she seeks to “restore and strengthen public confidence in the electoral system” and described ongoing modernization projects, including an online voter registration portal launched Jan. 16, 2025. She said the portal has been used by 18 people on St. Thomas, one on St. John and 10 on St. Croix and that the office will run a public education campaign through 2026 to raise uptake.

“Naturally, elections are a process, not an event,” Fox said in the hearing. She outlined responsibilities of the office — voter registration maintenance, absentee and vote-by-mail services, poll-worker recruitment, cybersecurity measures and public outreach — and listed steps the office has taken, from deploying next-generation e-poll books and printers to moving toward tablets for poll judges.

The hearing centered on two related measures proposed by Sen. Alma Francis-Heiliger: bill 36-0071, which would amend Title 18, V.I. Code, to provide a time-certain process for political parties to announce whether they will use a primary or an internal nominating method; and bill 36-0073, which would amend…