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sustancialmente el ejercicio del derecho al voto, el escrutinio pertinente es el llamado análisis tradicional o racional. PSP, PPD, PIP v. Romero Barceló, 110 DPR 248, 261 (1980). Bajo este, la ley no debe ser invalidada “a menos que sea claramente arbitraria y no pueda establecerse nexo racional alguno entre la misma y un interés legítimo del Estado”. Íd., citando a Zachry International v. Tribunal Superior, 104 DPR 267, 277 (1975). C A tono con lo anterior, la Asamblea Legislativa aprobó el Código Electoral de Puerto Rico para el Siglo XXI, Ley Núm. 78-2011, 16 LPRA sec. 4001, según enmendada (Ley Electoral). En lo pertinente al caso de autos, la Ley Núm. 239-2014, enmendó el Art. 9.039 de la Ley Electoral, 16 LPRA sec. 4179(m), para establecer que los votos de las personas con impedimentos de movilidad (encamados) que cualifiquen como electores de Fácil Acceso en el Domicilio se trataran como votos adelantados. En específico, la disposición en cuestión dispone lo siguiente: Para los casos que soliciten el voto adelantado por la causal de algún tipo de condición médica que le impida asistir a su colegio de votación, la Comisión proveerá un formulario para que el médico de cabecera o de tratamiento del elector certifique: que el elector presenta un problema de movilidad física que sea de tal naturaleza que le impida acudir a su centro de votación. La Comisión será responsable de reglamentar la manera en que se establecerá el procedimiento a seguir para garantizar el voto de las personas con impedimento de movilidad (encamados). En este procedimiento se trabajará la votación como voto adelantado bajo la supervisión de la Junta Administrativa del Voto Ausente (JAVA) y coordinado por la Junta de Inscripción Permanente (JIP). Id. (énfasis suplido) Por su parte, el Manual de Procedimientos para el Voto Adelantado en el Colegio de Fácil Acceso en el Domicilio para las Elecciones Generales 2016 (11 de agosto de 2016), exige que la solicitud de una persona encamada para votar en el colegio de fácil acceso en el domicilio esté “certificada por su médico de cabecera o médico de tratamiento”. (énfasis suplido) Íd. pág. 3. Así también, el Manual establece como requisito que dicha solicitud esté “firmada por el elector”. Íd. La única excepción a este requisito aplicará en el caso de electores

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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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