New voter registration at UPR, free offers for showing your voter ID card, and an interview Bad Bunny gave to influencer El Tony are among the initiatives aimed at reactivating and/or registering voters in Puerto Rico.
Why are so many campaigns appearing at the same time? One of the main reasons, as the Sept. 21 deadline to register or reactivate approaches, is the low number of new registrations and reports suggesting that only 41% are expected to participate in the elections, the lowest share in Puerto Rico's political history.
According to Somos Más, a volunteer group that seeks to promote change through civic participation in legislative processes, voter turnout "averaged 81% between 2000 and 2012." Over the past two elections, however, it has dropped to 55.7%."
The 2020 election results, in which current Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia won the governorship with the lowest recorded margin of votes in favor since 1950 (33.24%), also reinforced a troubling trend regarding the youth vote: of more than 406,000 eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 29, only 192,431 participated, 47 percent.
Ahead of the November elections, Manuel Álvarez Rivera, a statistical adviser on electoral matters, warned that there are about 800,000 inactive voters, either because they did not participate in previous elections or because they have never registered, according to an article in El Nuevo Día.
Closing the gap
To counter a possible low turnout in the elections, several organizations and influencers have turned to social media for a final push, urging people to register before Sept. 21.
Johnny Rullán Schmidt, a psychologist and executive director of Somos Más, who began leading the organization in 2020, believes there is a gap between the educational work of the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE) and the public.
"There has been inaction on the part of the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones. In Puerto Rico, going back to high school, there was a culture of giving out a mock card, like a learner's permit for drivers. With that mock card at school, students would practice elections so that by the time they turned 18, they would know the whole process. That doesn't happen here," Rullán Schmidt said in an interview with Platea.
With that in mind, Somos Más launched the "Juntos Somos Más" campaign, offering educational content about the electoral process through social media, including a tutorial on how to register with the CEE and a look at the current electoral landscape on the Island.
On the efforts of various groups, Rullán Schmidt added: "Now seeing that there are many other groups doing the same thing is a dream come true for us. What we want is for more and more people not only to register and become active, but to encourage others to do the same, because that advances the mission."
Like "Juntos Somos Más," Con Sentimientos PR, a digital outlet covering political and feminist content, launched Sácala y Gana, where you can find guides for businesses, families and friends on how to mobilize electoral participation through social media.
The artists' push
Some of the social media initiatives urging young people to get their voter ID cards involve several artists and influencers, including Bad Bunny, Tralugo and Lari Poppins.
In Bad Bunny's case, the interview has been covered by several outlets around the world, highlighting the moment when the artist from Vega Baja becomes emotional talking about the political situation in Puerto Rico. Also circulating on social media from that same conversation is a remix of a response Bad Bunny gave about the Nov. 5 elections.
The clothing brand Original Puertorro is promoting the Sácala, Sal y Vota campaign through videos and narratives that draw attention on social media, featuring local figures such as content creator Tatyana Trujillo, artist Tralugo, René Monclova and influencer Don Juan del Campo.
Artist and comedian Lari Poppins shared a tutorial on how to obtain a voter registration card.
Singer Rainao posted a video, alongside the nonpartisan campaign Prende tu Voto, inviting people to a free concert hosted by the organization, which you can attend if you have your voter registration card. The event, called Jóvenes al futuro, is on Saturday, Sept. 14.
This is one of several events from the La Tejedora campaign, which aims to "generate conversation and participation from our youth in the elections this November."
In addition to the Sept. 14 concert, the campaign will hold other voter registration events at Plazas Las Américas and San Patricio Plaza, as well as at Sagrado Corazón university and the Río Piedras campus of the Universidad de Puerto Rico.
Sácala y úsala
Before we go, here are some key dates to mark on your calendar, along with the link to the Comisión Estatal de Elecciones website:
Sept. 16, 2024: Deadline to request an absentee ballot in advance.
Sept. 21, 2024: Deadline for absentee voting. This is also the deadline for voter registration, reactivation, transfer and relocation for those participating in the general election.
Oct. 6, 2024: Deadline to request an advance ballot under the traveling voter category.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
