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Jessika Padilla Rivera, the Alternate Chairwoman of the State Elections Commission (SEC), emphasized over the weekend that the commission’s personnel do not visit voters to perform any electoral actions whatsoever.
“As we announced a few months back, all SEC personnel are required to carry an official ID featuring their photo and signature while executing their official duties,” Padilla Rivera stated in a written release. “If the ID is not clearly visible to the voter, they have the right to request it before initiating any process they have voluntarily agreed to.”
Nevertheless, she pointed out that volunteers from different political parties do approach voters in various contexts beyond the SEC’s jurisdiction.
She mentioned that the Electoral Code of Puerto Rico (Act No. 58 of June 20, 2020) specifies in Article 12.3 that “Anyone who hinders, intimidates, disrupts, or unlawfully intervenes in the electoral activities of the Commission, Political Parties or Political Action Committees, Campaign Committees, groups of citizens, Aspirants, Candidates, Independent Candidates, or Voters, will [have engaged in] a serious crime and, upon conviction, will face a prison term of no less than one year and no more than three years, or a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or both penalties at the Court’s discretion.”
Padilla Rivera advised voters that they can visit the commission to submit a formal complaint to the secretariat division if they notice any irregularities regarding the processes mentioned above.
