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encamadas se habían emitido de manera fraudulenta.[42] Las posturas encontradas sobre la conveniencia del procedimiento hasta entonces contemplado para el voto de las personas encamadas están reflejadas en el historial legislativo de las enmiendas al artículo 9.039 mediante la Ley 239-2014. El Informe de la Comisión de Gobierno, Eficacia Gubernamental e Innovación Económica señala, por ejemplo, que durante “[los comicios electorales [de 2012] surgieron controversias vinculadas . . . al Artículo 9.039 del Código Electoral de Puerto Rico”. 17ma Asamblea Legislativa, Informe recomendando la aprobación del P. del S. 1254, con enmiendas (10 de noviembre de 2014), pág. 10. Según el informe, estas controversias “provocaron que este innovador sistema de votar se viera empañado por denuncias de malos manejos de papeletas enviadas a electores que nunca pidieron votar bajo ese sistema”. Íd. pág. 11 De ahí que el informe concluyera que las enmiendas al artículo 9.039 pretendían “devolv[er] la confianza pública en nuestro sistema electoral”. Íd.[43] Por su parte, la Exposición de Motivos de la Ley Núm. 239-2014 reitera que las enmiendas realizadas al Código Electoral de Puerto Rico para el Siglo XXI, entre ellas las enmiendas al artículo 9.039, procuran “[establecer] controles y medidas de seguridad que garanticen el voto independiente y secreto de todos los electores en las diferentes clasificaciones de voto adelantado o ausente, en especial, sobre la atención de los grupos de electores más vulnerables, como son los encamados, los hospitalizados y aquellas personas con discapacidades”. Exposición de Motivos, Ley Núm. 239-2014. Así también, expresa como propósito medular de las enmiendas “proveer la mayor garantía, transparencia y pureza legal en los procesos electorales”. Id. De este trasfondo nos parece que el texto claro de la ley estuvo a su vez motivado por el interés del legislador de promover un procedimiento electoral altamente confiable y que garantizara y protegiera la seriedad de este proceso democrático. El juicio sobre la conveniencia o deseabilidad de dicha norma no nos corresponde cuando el legislador actúa de forma clara y, a su vez, dentro de sus facultades constitucionales. Desde esta perspectiva, no

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San Antonio Acha v. García Vélez

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission (CEE) violated the due process rights of voters with mobility impairments by denying their early voting applications (voto adelantado) based on alleged deficiencies in their forms — including missing signatures, incomplete information, and suspected fraud (e.g., dozens of applications certified by the same physician on the same date) — while simultaneously failing to provide timely notice of those denials, thereby depriving the voters of any meaningful opportunity to cure the defects before the November 8, 2016 general election.

Alleged Acts: The controversy arose during the evaluation of early voting applications (voto adelantado) for voters with mobility impairments ahead of the November 8, 2016 general elections in Puerto Rico. Under Puerto Rico's electoral law, registered voters who suffer from a condition that impedes their mobility and prevents them from going to their assigned polling places on election day may request early voting — including "at-home" early voting for bedridden voters (encamados). The request requires medical certification of the mobility impairment. The State Elections Commission (Comisión Estatal de Elecciones, or "CEE"), presided over by defendant García Vélez, had initiated a process through which at least 10,000 Puerto Rican citizens were granted access to early voting due to mobility impediments. However, 788 of these applications were challenged before the CEE due to alleged defects.

Procedural history: On October 28, 2016 — just days before the November 8 general election — the Electoral Commissioner of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) petitioned the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico to review the CEE's denials, asking the Court to authorize the hundreds of denied early voting applications for persons with mobility impairments.

Summary: In the weeks leading up to the November 8, 2016 general elections in Puerto Rico, the State Elections Commission (CEE) processed over 10,000 applications for early voting from voters with mobility impairments who were unable to go to their assigned polling places on election day. The CEE identified 788 applications as potentially defective. However, the CEE sent the denial notices late to the affected voters, giving them no meaningful opportunity to respond to the alleged defects or to cure the deficiencies before the election.

Conclusion: The Court ruled that the CEE's late notification of its denial resolution violated the due process rights of disabled voters, and as a remedy, validated all of the challenged early voting applications, thereby allowing the hundreds of voters with mobility impairments to cast their ballots in the November 8, 2016 general election.

Legal Issue(s)

Accessibility
Voter Registration
Voters' Rights

Applicable Law(s): Puerto Rico Constitution, Article II, § 7, and Puerto Rico Electoral Law

Region: Americas

Country: Puerto Rico

Language of Decision

Spanish

Court: Supreme Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Nov 4, 2016

Geolocation

Latitude: 18.4578

Longitude: -66.0863

: Geolocation

Link: https://www.lexjuris.com/LexJuris/tspr2016/lexj2016227a.htm

Primary Documents

San Antonio Acha v. García Vélez.pdf
Spanish
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Election Judgments - IFES

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San Antonio Acha v. García Vélez

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