SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico is holding elections that can be historic no matter which of the highest two gubernatorial candidates wins.
If Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Occasion wins Tuesday’s election, it’s going to mark the primary time within the island’s historical past that the social gathering secures three consecutive phrases.
If Juan Dalmau, who’s working for Puerto Rico’s Independence Occasion and Citizen Victory Motion, wins, it will likely be the primary win for a candidate not representing both of the 2 important events which have dominated the island’s politics for many years.
Trailing González and Dalmau in polls is Jesús Manuel Ortiz of the Widespread Democratic Occasion, which helps the island’s territorial standing. Additionally working is Javier Jiménez of Challenge Dignity, a conservative social gathering created in 2019.
For many years, the New Progressive Occasion and the Widespread Democratic Occasion would obtain no less than 90% of all votes, however that started to alter in 2016, with newer events attracting extra voters amid financial and political turmoil.
“That has been a really massive change,” mentioned Jorge Schmidt Nieto, a political analyst and college professor.
Delayed outcomes
Heavy rains pelted the island early Tuesday, however voters weren’t deterred, with tons of already ready in line when polls opened mid-morning.
Forecasters issued flash flood warnings for the capital of San Juan and different areas as individuals huddled underneath umbrellas and roofs to forged their votes.
Outcomes usually are not anticipated late Tuesday, with analysts warning it may be a few days earlier than that occurs. Throughout the 2020 elections, it took officers 4 days to launch preliminary outcomes.
Puerto Rico’s State Elections Fee continues to be counting greater than 220,000 early and absentee votes it acquired, with officers from numerous political events noting the method is slow-going. The counting of these votes started greater than two weeks later than regular.
Jessika Padilla, the fee’s alternate president, mentioned in a press convention that some 40% of these votes had been counted as of Monday.
“This validation course of is one which we aren’t going to take calmly,” she mentioned.
Greater than 5,000 inmates out of some 7,400 complete in Puerto Rico even have voted, though it’s unclear what number of of these votes have been counted.
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The fee and different officers are also nonetheless receiving allegations about electoral crimes, together with from individuals who mentioned they acquired confirmations for early voting once they made no such request.
In the meantime, vitality mills have been dispatched to greater than two dozen polling stations to ensure electrical energy given the continual energy outages which have plagued Puerto Rico in recent times.
A standing query and a symbolic vote
On Tuesday, voters additionally can be requested for a seventh time about Puerto Rico’s political standing. The nonbinding referendum gives three choices: statehood, independence and independence with free affiliation, underneath which points like international affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. greenback could be negotiated.
Whatever the end result, a change in standing requires approval from the U.S. Congress.
As well as, Puerto Ricans on Tuesday can help Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in a symbolic vote if they need. Whereas Puerto Ricans are U.S. residents, these on the island usually are not allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections.
Practically 2 million voters are eligible to take part in Tuesday’s election, though it stays to be seen how many individuals will achieve this. Voter apathy has dominated latest elections.
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