Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Snags hold up Puerto Rican primaries
Elections panel draws ire after lack of ballots leads some sites to halt voting
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico on Sunday was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots as officials called on the president of the U.S. territory’s elections commission to resign.
The primary elections for voting centers that had not received ballots by early afternoon were expected to be rescheduled, while voting would continue elsewhere, the commission said.
“I have never seen on American soil something like what just has been done here in Puerto Rico. It’s an embarrassment to our government and our people,” said Pedro Pierluisi, who is running against Gov. Wanda Vazquez to become the nominee for the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.
Meanwhile, Vazquez called the situation “a disaster” and demanded the resignation of the president of the elections commission.
“They made the people of Puerto Rico, not the candidates, believe that they were prepared,” she said. “Today, the opposite was evident. They lied.”
The president of her party, Thomas Rivera Schatz, along with the president of the main opposition Popular Democratic Party, held a news conference and said they agreed that the remaining primaries should be held next Sunday, a move that Vazquez said she supported.
Other politicians argued that the entire primary should be scrapped and held on another date.
Schatz noted that there were still trucks full of ballots parked at the commission’s headquarters as he spoke.
“The question is, why haven’t they left?” he said.
A commission spokeswoman said officials were not immediately available for comment.
To further complicate things, Edgardo Roman, president of the Bar Association of Puerto Rico, said it’s unclear what alternatives are viable because the island’s electoral law is not clear.
Hundreds of frustrated voters who wore the required masks and braved a spike in covid-19 cases were turned away from centers across Puerto Rico as officials told them that no ballots were available.
The situation infuriated voters and politicians of all stripes as they blamed Puerto Rico’s elections commission and demanded an explanation for ballots reaching only a handful of voting centers by the afternoon.
“This is indignant, abusive and an attempt against the democracy of our country,” said Marcos Cruz, mayor of the northern town of Vega Baja, which was still awaiting ballots.
Meanwhile, officials from the island’s two main parties scrambled to find solutions as they urged voters to still show up at centers that remained open.
Yadira Pizarro, a 44-yearold teacher, ran out of patience at a shuttered voting center in Carolina, where she had waited more than four hours under a blistering sun.
“I cannot believe this. This is some serious negligence,” she said.