Judicial branch contradicts Vega Borges on early voting controversy

By The Star Staff

The island judicial branch clarified on Wednesday that the San Juan Court of First Instance has not yet issued a determination in case SJ2024CV08226, Aníbal Vega Borges (as New Progressive Party electoral commissioner) v. State Elections Commission and others.

In an official communication, the judicial branch indicated that, although a hearing was held on Tuesday, the case is still under the consideration of Judge Raúl A. Candelario López, so no ruling has been made in favor of either party.

“We wish to clarify information that has been made public regarding case SJ2024CV08226, Aníbal Vega Borges (as Electoral Commissioner of the NPP) v. State Election Commission and others. At the time of this communication, the Court has not issued a determination in the case,” the judicial branch said in a written statement. “Yesterday [Tuesday], the Court of First Instance held a hearing in which the parties had the opportunity to present their arguments, leaving the case submitted for consideration by the Hon. Raúl A. Candelario López.”

The denial arises after the statements made by Vega Borges, who said earlier Wednesday that the court had ruled in favor of the NPP in the controversy over the address for receiving the ballots for early voting or by mail. Vega Borges said the resolution would allow voters to select the address where they wish to receive the ballots, whether it be their address registered with the State Elections Commission (SEC) or an alternate address.

“The will of the voter prevails, as it should be,” Vega Borges said in a written statement. “The judge determined that the citizen has the inviolable right to decide where they will receive their ballots, which supports our approach.”

The controversy arose after SEC Alternate Chairwoman Jessika Padilla Rivera proposed amending the original resolution so that ballots would only be sent to the address registered with the SEC, without allowing the option of an alternate address, a measure that was challenged by the NPP.

Meanwhile, Popular Democratic Party Electoral Commissioner Karla Angleró González filed a review appeal before the court, alleging that the amendment especially harmed voters in special circumstances, such as residents of lodging houses and people with health problems. Angleró stated that preventing the use of alternate addresses would violate the rights of those citizens and requested that the option of selecting alternative addresses to receive ballots be respected.