Anthony “Boots’ Martinez Challenges E&B Verification Process

It is not over for former Port Loyola Area Representative Anthony “Boot’s Martinez and his petition to recall current Area Representative Gilroy Usher. On Monday, we told you that his petition attempt was unsuccessful. In a letter to Martinez from the Office of the Governor General, he was informed that the accepted number of signatures did not meet the requisite thirty percent of registered electors in Port Loyola. He submitted one thousand, six hundred and fifty-four signatures. Only one thousand three hundred and eighty-nine were approved. That is ninety-six signatures shy of the number of approved signatures Martinez needed. In total, two hundred and sixty-five signatures were rejected. Today, Martinez called a press conference to announce that he has sought the legal counsel from attorney Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley, as he seeks to challenge the Election and Boundaries Department’s verification process of more than one hundred of those signatures.

 

Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Former Area Rep., Port Loyola

“What we did, after I received the letter from the governor general and especially the portion that relates to one hundred and eighty-eight signatures did not match with the election records that they have. I set out to consult with the attorneys and see what remedy can be done to that. And part of it I was very offended, because in my humble opinion, elections and boundaries and the chief elections officer, Ms. Tamai, in my view made a gross error by not verifying the signatures. Verify means verify and in my view the chief elections officer and the elections and boundaries department have the resources, human and otherwise to verify simple things, when you register or transfer you stand against a wall, take a picture, they ask you where you live, direction where to get there, your house, who is your neighbor, all kind of question. Elections and Boundaries was task with one simple task, go and find out, call, you are registered voter in Port Loyola, did you sign a recall petition. That is verification if you have doubts. Now I am not saying the election records wouldn’t help, but where there is doubt you must verify.”