Dignity Project assails amendments to Electoral Code Reform.

Dignity Project President Nilda Pérez Martínez (Facebook via Proyecto Dignidad)

By THE STAR STAFF

The Dignity Project (Proyecto Dignida) on Tuesday expressed its extreme concern at the adoption of the recent amendments to the Electoral Code Reform of Puerto Rico, particularly those related to voting by mail and early voting mechanisms.

The group warned that the amendments, far from strengthening public trust, amplify vulnerabilities in a system that has already been the subject of multiple accusations for lack of rigorous controls and effective supervision.

“The rules of the electoral process cannot modify themselves with their backs turned to the legitimate demand for transparency of the people,” Dignity Project President Nilda Pérez Martínez said. “Any reform must strengthen the security of the vote, not weaken it.”

The political party announced that it has sent an official communication to Gov. Jenniffer González Colón requesting her attention to vulnerabilities that persist in voting by mail. A letter of similar intent was sent to U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), to examine the situation of Puerto Rico within the framework of the federal discussion on electoral integrity.

The party stressed that the legislative reform in Puerto Rico is not consistent with HR 7296, recently approved in the U.S. House of Representatives, which establishes significant restrictions on voting by mail as a measure to strengthen electoral integrity. Dignity Project anticipates that the federal legislation will be considered and eventually passed in the Senate, also applying to Puerto Rico as a federal jurisdiction.