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NPP files complaint alleging illegal use of electoral registry information by MVC & candidate Natal

Writer's picture: The San Juan Daily StarThe San Juan Daily Star


The complaint filed by the New Progressive Party against Citizen Victory Movement officials alleges, among other violations, “interference, manipulation, alteration, disclosure or unauthorized access or attack on electronic systems,” as well as illegal use of information from the electoral registry. (Facebook via the New Progressive Party)

By The Star Staff


New Progressive Party (NPP) officials announced Tuesday the filing of a complaint against the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC by its initials in Spanish, its electoral commissioner, Lilian Aponte Dones, the MVC candidate for mayor of San Juan, Manuel Natal Albelo, and the company Gauss Research Laboratory Inc. and its president, Oscar Moreno de Ayala, for various violations of the Electoral Code of Puerto Rico, Law 58-2020.


The complaint, which was presented at a press conference by Francisco Domenech, the campaign director for the NPP candidate for governor Jenniffer González Colón, along with NPP Electoral Commissioner Aníbal Vega Borges, refers to the creation and management of a website by the MVC and Aponte Dones to collect personal information from voters. The website’s domain (victoriaenlacomision.pr) belongs to a company owned by Natal, according to the complaint, which alleges, among other violations by the MVC, Natal and the other defendants, “interference, manipulation, alteration, disclosure or unauthorized access or attack on electronic systems,” as well as illegal use of information from the electoral registry.


The document also indicates that Aponte Dones and Natal violated articles 12.8 and 12.9 of the 2020 Electoral Code.


“The Electoral Commissioner of the MVC, Lilian Aponte Dones, accessed the Electoral Registry data, obtaining information corresponding to all voters (active and inactive), including confidential data, which she disclosed or shared with unauthorized third parties. This act constituted a disclosure and/or publication of information not authorized by the Electoral Code,” the complaint states. “After the information of all voters (active and inactive) was illegally accessed from the Electoral Registry, it was placed in custody and/or shared with unauthorized third parties for the purpose of developing a tool within the website victoriaenlacomision.pr.”


The complaint adds that “[o]nce the information for the ‘Voter Consultation’ tool was illegally disseminated on the website victoriaenlacomision.pr, Aponte Dones facilitated and/or authorized the use of a system that compromised the security of the electoral information of the voters.”


The document goes on to say that Natal, “as the registrant of the domain “victoriaenlacomision.pr”, had control and access over it.”


Also on Tuesday, Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Electoral Commissioner Karla Angleró González and the PDP alternate commissioner, Gerardo “Toñito” Cruz, said they would be requesting an immediate investigation by the State Elections Commission (SEC), to address a complaint from a voter in Loíza who reported receiving political propaganda in favor of statehood inside an early voting envelope by mail.


“It is unacceptable that voting mechanisms are used to promote ideological agendas,” Angleró said. “This is illegal and undermines the neutrality and transparency that the SEC is supposed to guarantee. We demand that the SEC thoroughly investigate this situation and identify the officials responsible for allowing partisan propaganda to be included in official voting material.”


According to the sworn statement of Lydia Esther Osorio Velázquez, a PDP voter in Loíza, she received the early voting envelope on Oct. 16 as requested. The voter stated that the envelope contained propaganda in favor of statehood.


“I request that this irregular matter be investigated by the State Election Commission, since I consider it an irregular act to use the envelopes with ballots for voters to carry out ideological campaigns in favor of one of the alternatives on the plebiscite ballot,” Osorio said in the sworn statement.

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