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ley, hace un pobre servicio a nuestra democracia. Más aún cuando sobre 9,000 puertorriqueños y puertorriqueñas completaron correctamente los requerimientos dispuestos para el voto adelantado por impedimento. La CEE es la entidad facultada en ley para salvaguardar la integridad de los procesos electorales. Si bien el derecho al voto es fundamental, los requisitos que lo viabilizan son esenciales para que la voluntad del electorado y la integridad de los procesos sea suprema. Conforme a la ley y la reglamentación vigente, la CEE notificó su resolución a todas las partes involucradas. No existe prueba admitida al récord que rebata tal presunción. De manera que, en este caso, sin rigor alguno, se asumió jurisdicción sobre un caso en el que el Comisionado Electoral del PNP no notificó su recurso de revisión conforme a la Ley Electoral. Sin embargo, se descartó la Resolución de la CEE alegando que no se notificó al elector, argumento que es traído, por primera vez, y mediante prueba de referencia, en el alegato presentado ante este Tribunal. No hay duda de que este Tribunal excedió su facultad para alcanzar el fin promovido: que las solicitudes de voto adelantado --altamente cuestionables-- correspondientes a los listados provistos por los Comisionados Locales del PNP, no sean objeto de escrutinio por el personal de la CEE. Por entender que una mayoría de este tribunal distorsiona el récord administrativo, añade prueba que nunca se presentó ante la Comisionada, llega a conclusiones que no se sustentan en derecho y evalúa esta controversia de forma acomodaticia para llegar a un fin particular, disiento. Maite D. Oronoz Rodríguez Jueza Presidenta Notas al calce [1] Incluyó como demandados a la Lcda. Liza García Vélez, en su capacidad oficial como Presidenta de la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones; Lcdo. Guillermo San Antonio Acha, en su capacidad oficial como Comisionado Electoral del Partido Popular Democrático, Lcdo. Roberto I. Aponte Berríos, en su capacidad oficial como Comisionado Electoral del Partido Independentista

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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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