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Guam hearing on Bill 242-38 exposes deep split over who should vote in a decolonization plebiscite
Summary
At a Feb. 18, 2026 public hearing, lawmakers and dozens of witnesses sharply debated Bill 242-38, which would remove ancestry-based voter restrictions for a political-status plebiscite and apply ordinary voter eligibility; supporters cited a court ruling while opponents said the change would erase Chamorro self-determination.
A Guam legislative committee on Feb. 18 held a heated public hearing on Bill 242-38, a measure that would remove ancestry-based voter restrictions from the territory's political-status plebiscite and require that plebiscite eligibility follow Guam's ordinary voter rules. The bill's author, Senator Will Parkinson, told the Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Customs, Utilities, and Federal and Foreign Affairs that federal court decisions and international practice make the current law untenable.
Parkinson said the Ninth Circuit's decision in Davis v. Guam and related developments mean the decolonization registry 'as written cannot be implemented.' He argued Guam should adopt a plebiscite electorate based on ordinary voter eligibility, while remaining open to a 'reasonable residency requirement' as an…
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