Trump’s mail‑voting crackdown could disrupt Puerto Rico’s 2028 elections, legislator warns

Rep. Ramón Torres Cruz

By THE STAR STAFF

A Puerto Rican lawmaker is sounding the alarm over a federal policy he says could upend how thousands of island residents, along with soldiers, students and diplomats abroad, cast their ballots in the next election cycle.

Popular Democratic Party Rep. Ramón Torres Cruz said in a radio interview (NotiUno 630) on Monday that President Donald Trump’s March 31 executive order tightening mail‑in voting rules may have sweeping consequences for Puerto Rico, including the race for resident commissioner.

The order, titled “Guaranteeing Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” directs the U.S. Postal Service to mail absentee ballots only to voters who appear on federal citizenship lists and requires new barcode tracking on ballot envelopes.

Torres said the measure is part of Trump’s long‑standing effort to restrict mail voting, which the president has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, is vulnerable to fraud. With Congress unwilling to eliminate mail‑in voting outright, Torres argued, Trump turned to executive authority.

“He imposed requirements almost impossible to meet for ballots to go out,” Torres said, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has already allowed parts of the order to take effect.

The implications, he stressed, reach far beyond Puerto Rico. Federal law requires absentee ballots to be mailed at least 60 days before Election Day for voters overseas, including military personnel in conflict zones, students studying abroad and diplomats stationed around the world. Puerto Rico’s ballot for resident commissioner is bundled with the ballot for governor, meaning the island cannot simply separate federal races to comply with new federal rules.

“We’re not going to split the resident commissioner ballot from the governor’s ballot just to follow a directive in another process,” Torres said.

Complicating matters further, Torres noted, is that the Postal Service warned last December that mail processing delays could push postmarks up to 72 hours past the day a voter drops a ballot in the mail. Under Trump’s order, a ballot mailed the day before the election could be rejected if the postmark lands outside the legal deadline.

Democratic‑led states have challenged the order in court, Torres added, with lawsuits filed in 23 jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C. A federal bill to block the policy remains stalled in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Torres expects the dispute to reach the U.S. Supreme Court. The Trump administration in an emergency application asked the top court again on Sunday to allow its plans to restrict mail-in voting before the midterms in November.

While the order does not immediately alter Puerto Rico’s voting procedures, Torres cautioned that the next election cycle could be significantly affected. Nearly one million Puerto Ricans aged 50 and older qualify for absentee voting, a group that could face new barriers if the federal rules stand.