Election officials in the Northern Marianas intend counting votes by hand in November's election for the CNMI delegate to the US Congress.
The Election Commission has been asking for 128 thousand US dollars to conduct the poll, but the financially struggling Government has given it just 65 thousand.
Aside from manual counting, the Commission says the reduced budget has forced it to streamline other operations.
For instance, publication of educational materials for three legislative initiatives on the ballot will be printed with the help of the Northern Marianas' College, saving 15 thousand dollars.
