After a number of years of Guam Election Commission (GEC) Executive Director Maria Pangelinan inviting Thomas Hicks to visit the island he finally took her up on her offer. 

Hicks, is the commissioner with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and recently was on Guam to observe the GEC and see the inner workings of the commission.

He said, “Guam is no different than Texas or Arizona or New Mexico in terms of me going to those jurisdictions to see how they run elections and talk to officials and students and talk to them about their election experiences and what the EAC can do to help them with the casting of votes and other resources they may need.”

Hicks also went to Saipan and met with the Governor and other officials there to talk about a number of issues that they've faced with elections. Unfortunately, Saipan does not have representation on the EAC's Standards Board but is something the members of Congress will discuss.

Here on Guam, Hicks had an intensive schedule that concluded with a GEC Board Meeting. He said it's ongoing education when it comes to election matters.

“Going to talk to the military folks and the changes that they're making with Guam being a forward leaning base. With a number of marines moving from Okinawa to Guam, so when I talk about elections it's not just permanent folks, it's also the military and those serving overseas as well,” Hicks said. 

As for if he spotted any weaknesses or if noted strengths when it comes to the elections on Guam? Hicks says all election officials have the same goal.

Hicks explained, “And that is to ensure that those who are eligible to vote can have their votes cast and counted accurately. Guam is looking at making sure that votes are counted accurately but to increase that as far as voter participation, but also decrease the time that it takes to accumulate those votes so we can find those answers a little bit quicker.”

Overall, Hicks' visit was a good one, “Its been really good to be here. Everyone has been really friendly, the food has been excellent. But I think also talking to the commissioners has been really helpful.”