The group attempting to get casinos allowed in Guam’s major hotels, Citizens for Economic Diversity, are back in court over the November 2004 vote on the matter. They are fighting to get the results of the election overturned and a new vote held. Their grounds for the demand is that the Guam Election Commission only mailed a single sheet pamphlet to voters before the election instead of the 82-page text of the gambling initiative as required by law. The Commission maintains that it followed election law and that mailing costs for 82 pages would have been prohibitive.

In December 2004 two members of Citizens for Economic Diversity filed civil suits, since combined into one, against the Guam Election Commission, its Executive Director and the Governor. The Attorney General declared the case a federal issue and had it moved to the Guam federal district court. Last May a federal judge rejected the case, returning it to the Superior Court of Guam, ruling that the Attorney General had failed to get permission from the defendants to remove it from the local court process. The judge also ruled that the Attorney General’s Office should not represent the Commission or Governor as there was a conflict of interest.

Guam, the largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago of the North Pacific, relies heavily on tourism and US military spending to support its population of around 168,500 US citizens who do not have a vote in its presidential elections. The Japanese are the major visitors to the island, accounting for about 90% of tourists, but a recent slowdown has impacted the Guam economy. Over the past 20 years many hotels have been built and some see a casino industry as a way to encourage more tourists. If the 2004 result is overturned and a new election held there is no guarantee that the vote will be in favour of casinos for Guam. The original measure was defeated by 21,223 to 13,311 on the island. (E-01.13.06)

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