Weeks after theNovember 5th election, Puerto Rico still does not have certified votes. It is no surprise that Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon won the governor’s race or that statehood won the status vote for the fourth time. Since opposition parties worked hard ahead of the election to cast doubt on Puerto Rico’s ability to hold a fair election, attempts at election denial may not be surprising, either.
Lawsuit
A dozen voters filed. lawsuit on November 21st when their votes had still not been certified. These voters had requested early voting. Puerto Rico, unlike many states, has special requirements for early voting. people who are elderly or have physical limitations may request early voting.
The voters had fulfilled all the requirements, but their votes were subjected to additional strictures which are not part of the law, including insistence that the address fir their request should be the same as the one they used to register.
Judge Raúl A. Candelario López said in a ruling on the matter, “Contrary to what some actors in our society may have encouraged in public opinion, our legal framework in electoral matters is covered with guarantees of reliability, which leave no room for speculation or doubts about the validity of early votes,” according to the Associated Press.
The judge required Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission to count the votes once identity of the voters was verified, regardless of changes of address.
Delays
A number of delays in counting have plagued the process. Write-in votes and concerns about bedside votes caused workers to begin the count over for many votes, and then to stop counting the status vote ballots until they completed the votes for candidates, requiring another restart on the counting process.
Puerto Rico law requires the vote counts to be completed by December 31.
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