SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico is holding elections that will be historic regardless of which of the top two gubernatorial candidates wins.
If Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party wins Tuesday's election, it will mark the first time in the island’s history that the party secures three consecutive terms.
If Juan Dalmau, who is running for Puerto Rico’s Independence Party and Citizen Victory Movement, wins, it will be the first win for a candidate not representing either of the two main parties that have dominated the island’s politics for decades.
Trailing González and Dalmau in polls is Jesús Manuel Ortiz of the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the island’s territorial status. Also running is Javier Jiménez of Project Dignity, a conservative party created in 2019.
Thousands of voters across the U.S. territory stood in long lines clutching umbrellas, undeterred by heavy rain on Tuesday morning.
“I feel that for the first time, there is an opportunity for change,” said Jorge Hernández, a 24-year-old arts student as he waited to cast his vote. “The bipartisanship is losing strength. I have faith that there can be real change.”
For decades, the New Progressive Party and the Popular Democratic Party would receive at least 90% of all votes, but that began to change in 2016, with newer parties attracting more voters amid economic and political turmoil.
Like other voters, Hernández said he was tired of the island's chronic power outages and worried about a lack of affordable housing.
Education, health and public safety also were on voters' minds as they marveled at the long lines despite forecasters issuing flash flood warnings for the capital of San Juan and other areas.
“I've never seen it like this,” said Nadja Oquendo, a 62-year-old retiree who has always participated in elections.
Faviola Alcalá, a pro surfer, said she was voting for the first time after registering at a university and was thrilled to see the line at her polling station.
“I love it,” she said, adding that she would like to see a break from Puerto Rico's two main parties and more opportunities for young people.
Among the voters who stepped out despite the rain on Tuesday morning was reggaetón superstar Bad Bunny, who has derided the pro-statehood party and made a brief appearance at Dalmau's campaign closer on Sunday.
“I trust that we the people of Puerto Rico will make the right decision for the future of our people,” he told reporters.
Long lines were reported at several polling stations as a result of some voting machines not working.
Although polling stations will close late Tuesday afternoon, results could take a couple of days. During the 2020 elections, it took officials four days to release preliminary results.
Dalmau, however, said he believed the results for the governorship would be ready by late Tuesday.
“We are hopeful that this country will take a historic step,” he told reporters as he prepared to vote.
Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission is still counting more than 220,000 early and absentee votes it received, with officials from various political parties noting the process is slow-going. The counting of those votes began more than two weeks later than usual.
Jessika Padilla, the commission’s alternate president, said at a news conference that some 40% of those votes had been counted as of Monday.
“This validation process is one that we are not going to take lightly,” she said.
More than 5,000 inmates out of some 7,400 total in Puerto Rico also have voted, although it’s unclear how many of those votes have been counted.
The commission and other officials also are still receiving allegations about electoral crimes, including from people who said they received confirmations for early voting when they made no such request.
Meanwhile, energy generators have been dispatched to more than two dozen polling stations to guarantee electricity given the chronic power outages that have plagued Puerto Rico in recent years.
On Tuesday, voters also will be asked for a seventh time about Puerto Rico’s political status. The nonbinding referendum offers three options: statehood, independence and independence with free association, under which issues like foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. dollar would be negotiated.
“We're going to work to give our people equality,” said Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood party as she stood in line and waited to vote.
Party officials have long noted that despite being a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico receives unequal treatment when it comes to Medicaid, Medicare and other federal programs.
Regardless of the referendum's outcome, a change in status requires approval from the U.S. Congress.
In addition, Puerto Ricans on Tuesday can support Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in a symbolic vote if they wish. While Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, those on the island are not allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections.
Nearly 2 million voters are eligible to participate in Tuesday’s election, although it remains to be seen how many people will do so. Voter apathy has dominated recent elections.
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