By The Star Staff
Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary General Gerardo “Toñito” Cruz Maldonado, along with Manuel Calderón Cerame, the PDP candidate for the San Juan District 4 seat in the island House of Representatives, announced Monday a new electoral challenge to the electoral address on record for former governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, due to changes in the registry from Guaynabo to San Juan when his residence is still in the mainland United States.
“After the recusal process that began last week against former governor Rosselló Nevares, he carried out the process of transferring his electoral address from Guaynabo to the College Park Urbanization, San Juan, through the Electronic Voter Registry [eRE System] of the State Elections Commission [SEC],” Cruz Maldonado said in a written statement. “This is despite the fact that this address does not correspond to his current residence according to the ruling of the San Juan Superior Court.”
Cruz Maldonado, who is also the PDP alternate electoral commissioner, likewise said that in light of the events, “our electoral commissioner of San Juan Precinct 4 will be challenging this procedure at the next Precinct 4 meeting, regarding validations of electoral transactions, since clearly Ricardo Rosselló’s action departs from what the Electoral Code establishes regarding domicile.”
Calderón Cerame noted that during the 2021 trial in the Rosario Rodríguez vs. Rosselló Nevares case in San Juan, it was evident that Rosselló had registered as a voter in the state of Virginia, as certified by the Voter Overview Summary, starting on Jan. 29, 2021.
“As a consequence, voter Rosselló Nevares was registered in the Puerto Rico Voter Registry and in the Virginia State Registry simultaneously for the year 2021 and never notified the SEC of his status as an voter of the State of Virginia,” the candidate said. “After recusal actions were filed against him in Guaynabo for reasons of domicile, last week, Ricardo Rosselló once again intends to make fun of Puerto Rico’s electoral system.”
Calderón Cerame added that “it is our duty to maintain respect for the laws and the integrity of Puerto Rico’s electoral process.”
Cruz Maldonado said that last week, recusal actions were filed by Ernesto Cabrera, the PDP candidate for mayor of Guaynabo, after it was proven in court that Rosselló Nevares had sold his property in Guaynabo shortly after being sworn in as governor in 2017.
“Let us remember that during the controversy in Superior Court, Rosselló Nevares alleged that he lived in the College Park Urbanization, San Juan, when selling his property in Guaynabo, which turned out to be false,” the PDP official said. “During the lawsuit, it was learned that said property belongs to and is the residence of his father-in-law, Mr. Roberto A. Rivera Ruiz.”