 The leadership of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate opposed Fitial's lawsuit against the United States government and voted to deny a requested $400,000 in funding for the legal action.Though legal action was still pending at the time of the election, Governor Benigno Fitial encouraged all registered CNMI voters to cast their ballots for the new delegate on election day.The deadline for prospective candidates to file to run in the election was August 6, 2008.