Following Voter Registration Mess, ACLU Sues Puerto Rico to Extend Deadline

SAN JUAN — Amid chaos and hours-long lines, Puerto Rico’s voter registration closed on Saturday at midnight. However, a federal lawsuit seeks to extend the deadline after election officials denied a previous request. 

On Sunday night, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the island’s State Election Commission (CEE) to extend the deadline until 30 days prior to Election Day on behalf of four people who attempted to use the new digital registration system but were either unable to process their request or whose voter status was still pending.

The lawsuit claims that voters would have until October 6 to register, according to the Electoral Code, and that Saturday’s September 21 deadline would “disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters” by not allowing them to register.

Two out of the four defendants were unable to reactivate their voter registration or change their address through the digital system “due to the lack of organization of the CEE, the reduction of the JIPs, errors in the electronic system designed for the electronic registration of voters (eRE) and the arbitrary reduction of the deadline for voters’ registration,” the lawsuit stated.

The other two defendants used the eRE system to register or reactivate their voter status but their request is still “pending.”

Voters who registered through the eRE system will have four days to fix any problems with their submission once they are notified of any deficiencies.

There are currently approximately more than 30,000 requests made through eRe that have not been approved or denied, according to Lilian Aponte, election commissioner for the Citizens Victory Movement (MVC) political party, which has formed a center-left alliance (La Alianza) with the island’s Independence Party (PIP).

Aponte also told The Latino Newsletter that more than 100,000 voter registration transactions are still being processed.

This election cycle La Alianza will face the pro-status quo Popular Democratic Party (PPD), the statehood-supporting New Progressive Party (PNP), which currently holds the governorship, and the far-right Dignity Party (PD).

A Registration Mess

People in Puerto Rico faced several problems when trying to register to vote or change their address in the weeks leading up to the September 21 voter registration deadline. Those who physically visited a permanent registration board had to wait hours to register, while those who used the new digital eRe system were often denied because of problems with the picture or documents uploaded to the platform. 

“I have better things to do than wait in line,” Gustavo Lejardi, a 20-year-old student, said as he left the CEE’s main building without registering on Saturday. 

Unlike Lejardi, others decided to wait hours for a voter card.

“This has been the year I have seen people most motivated to vote and it was finally my time,” said Angelique Ruiz, 21, after waiting four hours in line on Saturday to get her voter identification card.

People reported waiting up to five hours for a simple address change. CEE was prioritizing new registrations, reactivations, and address changes on Saturday, suggesting people who needed some other process that could be done after the deadline come back at a later date to reduce congestion. 

“Of those [politicians] that are there, none of them work. We need new people and if they do not work, then we will take them out again,” said Omayra Colón, 55, who came to register her teenage daughter to vote. Colón noted she will vote for La Alianza.

Puerto Rico’s current last day to register to vote is the second earliest in the United States, right behind the Northern Mariana Islands. Guam, another colony of the U.S., closes its voter registration on October 22. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia allow same-day voter registration.

How Many Have Registered?

There were around 50,000 fewer new voters registered and nearly 400,000 fewer total active voters in 2024 when compared to 2020, according to CEE documents dated September 22 that were provided to The Latino Newsletter.

Over the last few weeks, there were several reports of registration issues. At one voter registration event at a mall in Guaynabo organized by the Prende Tu Voto campaign, a coalition of civil society groups and journalism outlets, people waited until 4:00 am local time because they refused to leave without making sure that they were registered. At another event organized by the campaign before a concert where the ticket was presenting your voter registration card, CEE officials arrived late and only brought one machine to print out voter ID cards.

During this time, MVC filed its own lawsuit to extend the deadline to 30 days before Election Day but they were denied by a state judge. That lawsuit came after election officials from the MVC, the PIP and the PD had already requested the deadline be moved but were rejected by election officials from the PNP, the PPD and the CEE’s alternate president. 

Aponte noted that one of the major factors that caused the problems at the CEE was due to the closure of 76 out of 88 permanent registration boards throughout Puerto Rico.

“There is a certain degree of intentionality,” Aponte said on Sunday, after the registration period had closed. She explained that Puerto Rico’s economic crisis has left the CEE without the necessary personnel or resources to comply with the technological advancements and requirements imposed on it by the Electoral Code.

The Latino Newsletter reached out to both the PNP and PPD for comment about the registration problems, but at the time of this publication, both parties did not provide official reactions.

The PPD’s commissioner, Karla Anglero, told the Associated Press last week she voted against extending the deadline because it would delay other processes, including printing ballots and recording over 90,000 early votes.

During a Sunday press conference, Aníbal Vega Borges, the PNP’s election commissioner, said that the most full permanent registration board on Saturday was in Bayamón, where a few people were given tickets to come back later. He said that the “majority” of early voters will be for the PNP.

About the Author

Carlos Berríos Polanco is a journalist from Puerto Rico covering climate, conflict, and the intersection of the two.

What We’re Reading

The Kamala Harris Latino Strategy: On Sunday, Politico published a story about how the Kamala Harris campaign is approaching Latino voters in the final push to Election Day. It’s a good read with contrasting insights. We do have one question: Did people forget about the Latino voter strategies of the 2008 and 2012 Barack Obama campaigns? Think of Harris 2024 as an offshoot of Obama 2008 and 2012. Nothing in politics is new. Read the link below and let us know what you think?

More Polls: If it’s Sunday, there must be new polls. Here are what three polls are saying about Latinos in 2024.

From NBC News:

The CBS News/YouGov Poll shared the following:

• 59% of Latinos favor Harris to Donald Trump’s 41%.

• For those Latinos who said they won’t vote for Harris, 8% said that they maybe would still vote for her with 0% saying they would vote for her.

• For those Latinos who said they won’t vote for Trump, 3% said that they maybe would still vote for him with 3% saying they would definitely vote for him.

From the latest New York Times/Siena poll of battleground states, here is what it says about Latinos:

• Arizona Latinos: Harris 62%, Trump 32%

• Georgia Latinos: no specific Latino data, but “Other” has it as Harris 49%, Trump 44%

• North Carolina Latinos: no specific data, but “Other” has it as Harris 49%, Trump 49%

• Latinos Across All Three States: Harris 49%, Trump 37%

Do you believe in creating new journalism lanes for Latinos and Latinas? Do you believe that U.S. mainstream outlets will never understand our community? Consider donating to The Latino Newsletter. Any little bit helps to keep this newsletter free and accessible to all. ¡Gracias mil!