They find alleged early voting irregularities in Culebra

The election commissioner of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) Gerardo “Toñito” Cruz, denounced Wednesday that he had discovered alleged irregularities in the early votes cast in the election contest for the mayor of Culebra.

In a press conference, Cruz outlined each of the alleged irregularities he discovered, including voters registered in other jurisdictions, requests for early postal voting with ballots sent to the same mailing address, and voters not residing in Puerto Rico.

He attributed these problems to the electoral law, which was passed on June 20.

“Culebra is the best example of the adoption of an electoral law intended to enable fraudulent voting. Now a voter can request an early vote in absentee mode without any explanation, ”Cruz said, along with Culebra Mayor Iván Solís.

In Culebra, there is a recount, which began today at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum as part of the general vote, as Edilberto (Junito) Romero, candidate of the New progressive party he won by only two votes against Solís.

Cruz said he has four voters who, despite living in Culebra, asked for his ballot to a municipal address, but the real estate owner has no ties with those voters.

Another irregularity he mentioned is that of a voter who, according to social networks, lives in the United States, but as a resident of the island congregation has requested an early vote by mail.

“He could have asked for an absentee vote, because you don’t have to justify why you’re sending a ballot request to Florida or Texas. This voter, who can request an absentee vote, is asking for an early vote by mail so that the ballot gets to an address where his mother and sister also receive the ballots, ”he said.

For his part, the mayor of Culebra said he had submitted a referral to the Justice Department.

“We will establish in Culebra that democracy and electoral laws are respected, because in Culebra we have traditionally been pioneers in challenges. Since 2012 that I joined we have identified the challenges, unfortunately due to the pandemic no challenge processes have been created, but many of these votes were approved by the Administrative Board for Absence and Early Voting after the date of the challenge, “he admitted On.