The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has yet to produce a certified vote tally for a single district almost a month after holding historic general elections. Then on Wednesday, a judge issued a ruling that sparked an outcry and threatened to further delay the certification process as the Jan. 2 swearing in looms.
The judge, in response to a lawsuit, ordered Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission to count early votes following ID verification even if the postal address used to request those votes is different from the one in the general voter registration.
“Contrary to what some actors in our society may have encouraged in public opinion, our legal framework in electoral matters is covered with guarantees of reliability, which leave no room for speculation or doubts about the validity of early votes,” Judge Raúl A. Candelario López wrote.
