New York – An observer mission from the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE) identified a series of flaws in the primary process in Puerto Rico held on June 2, ranging from a lack of uniformity in the process of counting votes and transmitting results, the absence of electoral officials, and violation of the secrecy of the vote.
The report begins by highlighting that, although the polling stations opened on time and all the materials arrived, there were some in which some of their members did not arrive, mainly from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), “and for this reason they had to merge two polling stations so that all voters could cast their vote.”
Regarding the conditions of the voting centers, the delegation pointed out the lack of an information desk or any other tool for voters to locate their polling station. In addition, in some of the centers visited there was little signage to facilitate the location of the centers.
“The Mission observed, in the centers visited, long lines both outside and inside the polling stations and it was learned that the crowding, to a large extent, originated in the difficulty that voters had in passing the ballots through the electronic counting machines and thus depositing them in the corresponding ballot boxes,” the observers reported.
The group highlighted that, although the voting centers had good facilities, the distribution of space was not taken advantage of. Another detail that caught the attention of the evaluators was that the tables where the officials should be, the voting screens and the electronic counting machines were installed in different ways.
“Given this situation, the Mission consulted the political parties in contention, and they indicated that each one has a regulation that indicates such a thing. The Mission observed that, in the great majority of the voting centers visited, the polling stations were set up in accordance with what is established by the regulations. However, the Mission witnessed that some polling stations could not be set up because not all the members arrived,” the report reiterates.
Another issue they brought up was that the ballots were not kept in all the polling stations, but rather were scattered in different places; in addition, there were other electoral materials in disarray.
A not so secret vote
UNIORE members highlighted the fact that, in some cases, what is known as vote secrecy was violated due to different circumstances such as the location of the voting booth or the lack of a folder that would allow the ballots to be stored while voters wait to deposit them.
“In some of the polling stations observed, the voting booths were located in such a way that it was perfectly possible to see how people were voting, since the voter’s back was facing the other voters and members of the polling station. In some places there was a blind folder and in others there was not, and this was important, because it was required for voters to protect their ballots while they waited to deposit them in the ballot boxes. Although the secrecy of the vote is not protected, the Mission observed that it was not an issue that concerned voters,” they said.
Another matter of concern is that there was no uniform approach to dealing with damaged ballots; ballots damaged by the voter, ballots that were not read by the machine and those that were damaged during the electronic counting machine reading process were deposited in a box.
Scrutiny and transmission of results
As for the counting and transmission of results, despite describing it as a slow process, observers found that there was no uniformity from one polling station to another.
“The Mission observed that the counting was a slow process due to the counting of all the tickets, both signed and unused, damaged ballots and marked ballots. Regarding the issue of counting and transmission of results, there was no uniformity between one polling station and another. The Mission learned that at the time of transmission of results, this must be done from the electronic counting machine; from there, three attempts are made to transmit the results. If this is not possible because there is no connectivity or for another reason, the corresponding memory is extracted and taken to another place, previously determined by the CEE, to carry out the transmission,” they explained on this matter.
The vote of the confined
One positive aspect that stands out in the document is the handling of votes from those incarcerated in the island’s prisons.
UNIORE members recognized the order, training and willingness of the prisoners to participate in the process as well as the efforts made by the State Election Commission (CEE) to facilitate the process.
“The Mission highlights the efforts made by the CEE to ensure that various groups of society, who cannot go to the polling stations, can cast their vote. On this occasion, the Mission observed the voting of people confined in two penitentiary centres and highlights the order, training and willingness of these people to participate in the voting process. It also highlights the fundamental role played by the members of the electoral colleges in carrying out the voting process in accordance with the law,” they stated.
Suggestions from observers
Among the suggestions included in the analysis to encourage improvements in the processes for the general elections on November 5, the experts recommended that the CEE carry out activities to strengthen democratic values and civic education aimed at young people to encourage their participation.
As for the training of members of the polling stations so that they can be the required officials, the mission delegated this task to the political parties in the race. “The Mission suggests that the CEE ensure that there is basic training to guarantee the proper functioning of these polling stations,” they added on this matter.
In terms of the counting process, the mission suggested creating and disseminating a training campaign for voters on the correct use of the machines.
In addition, they advised the CEE to carry out an assessment to determine the causes of the problems with the operation of the electronic counting machines, both during voting day and during the counting and transmission of results.
“Likewise, we must strengthen quality control processes and verification protocols prior to the election, as well as establish 100% tests and simulations to ensure optimal operation,” they added.
To facilitate the flow of voters at the polling stations, they suggested that all polling stations be set up in the same way for better operation. The Mission also recommended the development of a manual summarizing the steps required to uniformly activate the polling stations.
Scope of UNIORE management
The report is the result of the deployment of UNIORE observers on the day of the primaries on 4 observation routes in San Juan, Guaynabo, Bayamón and Cataño.
The Mission was made up of judges and officials from electoral bodies in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and the Electoral Advisory and Promotion Center (IIDH/CAPEL), in its capacity as Executive Secretary.
The aim of the experts’ work is not to certify an election, but to offer an impartial and independent view of the electoral processes, from a technical point of view, to identify what has been done well and specify what needs to be improved.
“This report aims to provide input to Puerto Rican electoral authorities within the framework of horizontal cooperation that is ongoing among UNIORE member organizations,” the 24-page document states.
Response from the President of the EEC
The alternate president of the CEE, Jessika Padilla Rivera, assured, in an aside with the media at an event related to the printing of ballots, that she will work with the recommendations that add to the electoral processes of that office, safeguarding the fact that they are different processes.
He added, however, that not everything is under the Commission’s control.
“We are working on what is under the control of the CEE and we are going to make sure that it does not affect the event itself, both in terms of early voting and in-person voting,” he said about what could happen on November 5.
Regarding the end of the report, did you consider it favorable or positive?
“We think it is positive or favorable that these are objective observations. Here, there is no particular interest from any party in relation to the process. These are objective opinions that we definitely have to stop and evaluate and rethink,” he said.
The problem with the transmission of the results of the primaries
A programming error caused delays in the reading of the results and, consequently, in the publication of the minutes of the scrutiny corresponding to the primary event on the island.
The CEE identified at least 121 records of the primaries of the New Progressive Party (PNP) and PPD with discrepancies.
The alternate president of the CEE specified that Dominion Voting Systems certified the reading of the results as correct, but not their transmission.
The specific problem was with the export file that takes the results to Reidy or the special system for Receipt and Disclosure of Results (Reydi).
The government entered into a lease-purchase agreement with Dominion Voting Systems in 2015 for $32.5 million.
The contract with Dominion expired on July 1. Since then, the 6,073 electronic voting machines have been owned by the CEE. The machines are also expected to be used for the general election.
On June 19, at a hearing before the House Elections Committee, Dominion Vice President of Certification and Compliance Bob Gyles said the issue had been resolved and that they do not anticipate any incidents in the general election.
“Yes. We are confident that we have solved the problem. But we want the EEC to have the same confidence, so we want to test the system with them,” Gyles said at the time, as quoted by El Nuevo Día. “In our internal tests, the problem has been solved,” he reaffirmed.
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