Ahead of the November general elections, voters registered with the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) and the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD) will head to the polls on Sunday, June 2, to determine their preferred candidates for state and municipal offices.
If you're ready to mark the box next to your preferred choice, or simply want to stay more informed about what's happening in the Island's political landscape, here is an information sheet to address your most pressing questions about how and where to vote, and to help you decide who to vote for. Platea Tip: Are you registered to vote? Confirm it using the tool from the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE).
Get answers to your main questions
Who can vote in the primaries?
Any voter who registered with a Junta de Inscripción Permanente (JIP) or through the Registro Electrónico de Electores (eRE) before Saturday, April 13, 2024, can vote in the local primaries.
What if I'm not registered and want to vote?
No problem. The registration period will be open until Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, for those who wish to vote in the general elections.
If you are an elderly citizen or will be abroad for study reasons, you also have until Monday, Sept. 16, to request early or absentee voting, or voting by mail.
Where and how can I vote?
By entering your voter identification number in the Consulta del Elector portal, you can find out which precinct and voting unit you belong to.
By looking up your precinct number in the Desglose de Sectores table, you can find the polling place you should go to. Poll workers will be available on election day to inform you about how to cast your vote effectively.
Should I vote in the primaries?
That depends on you. The primaries are aimed at voters aligned with the PNP and the PPD (the so-called "corazón del rollo"), and you may want to participate if you want to be involved in the future of either party. If you're not so sure, it's probably better to wait for the general elections on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Where are the other parties?
As permitted by electoral law, both the members of the Alianza de País, the Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP) and the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC), and the Proyecto Dignidad (PD) held internal processes to select their candidates for November, so they will not appear on the June ballots.
When are the primary results announced?
Results typically begin to come in during the afternoon of election day. However, this year closer races are expected, along with a large number of early voting registrations, so concrete results may not be available until several days after the event.
Who can you vote for?
Figures from both major parties are competing in some of the most closely contested races of this electoral cycle to determine candidacies for governor, resident commissioner, the legislature and mayorships. Below, we highlight the most notable:
Governor
Partido Nuevo Progresista
According to projections, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia holds a slight advantage over his opponent, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón, in the race for the PNP gubernatorial nomination.
Pierluisi Urrutia is running an incumbency-focused campaign and is trying to leverage his record in office to attract voters. González Colón, by contrast, is leading a more populist push, with pointed criticism of decisions such as the privatization of the electric power system.
Partido Popular Democrático
At-large representative Jesús Manuel Ortiz González is running against at-large senator and former secretary of the Treasury Juan Zaragoza Gómez for the PPD's gubernatorial nomination.
Both point to developing Puerto Rican entrepreneurship and depoliticizing the Department of Education, as well as strengthening public safety to combat armed crime, among other proposals.
Resident commissioner
Partido Nuevo Progresista
Former secretary of state under the Wanda Vázquez Garced administration, Elmer Luis Román, faces at-large senator William Villafañe Ramos for the PNP's resident commissioner nomination. Román is the favored candidate of the González Colón faction, while Villafañe Ramos is aligned with Pierluisi Urrutia.
The PPD will not hold a primary for resident commissioner, as it will present the sole candidacy of Pablo José Hernández Mayoral in the November election.
Mayoralties
Among the primary races for mayor, there are several high-profile candidates in both parties. In Dorado, on the PPD side, the current speaker of the House of Representatives, Rafael "Tatito" Hernández Montañez, faces Carlos "Carlitos" López Rivera, the incumbent since 1987.
Meanwhile, a power struggle is about to come to a head in the PPD in Mayagüez, after the forced departure of incumbent Mayor José Guillermo "Guillito" Rodríguez Rodríguez in 2022 opened the door to three candidacies for the post: current interim Mayor Jorge Ramos Ruiz, District 19 representative Jocelyne Rodríguez Negrón and educator René Marrero Rosado.
On the PNP side, Cataño Mayor Julio Alicea Vasallo will have to fend off a challenge from attorney Gabriel Sicardó Ocasio to hold on to the PNP nomination for the post.
Find out who represents you
Through the platform Quién Me Representa, administered by the nonprofit Espacios Abiertos, you can check in detail who the candidates are for elected office in your municipality.
There, you can also see what your ballots would look like and read the reports each candidate must file with the Oficina del Contralor Electoral y Ética Gubernamental. Get informed!
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
