By The Star Staff
Several voices, from the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC), the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and the Popular Democratic Party requested from the State Elections Commission (SEC) on Monday an extension of the registration period to correct the deficiencies in the management of the electoral process in view of the closing of the Electoral Registry.
“For more than two years, we have publicly warned about the multiple failures faced by the Commission, including the lack of accessible mechanisms for citizens, the closure of the JIPs [Permanent Registration Boards] without having adequate technological tools and poor preparation for citizen mobilization,” MVC Electoral Commissioner Lillian Aponte Dones said. “Despite our warnings and the many proposals we have submitted, the SEC has ignored them, leading us to the situation we are now experiencing: gross administrative inefficiency, serious obstacles to the accessibility of the JIPs and an unprecedented bottleneck in the eRE [electronic voter registration] system, which was implemented late and without the necessary tests. In recent weeks, the number of stalled electoral transactions has increased alarmingly, to more than 65,000, putting the right to vote of thousands of people at risk.”
“Our request is clear: every person with a transaction in process or rejected must be given additional time to complete their process and thus be able to exercise their right to vote,” she added. “This is imperative.”
The PIP, through its Organization Secretary Adrián González Costa, made an urgent call to the SEC to extend the term that expires this Saturday.
“The Electoral Code specifically provides that for this electoral cycle, registrations, reactivations and transfers can be made up to 30 days before the electoral event,” said González Costa, who is running for a seat in the Senate.
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