Historic general elections are taking place in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico awaits election results late Tuesday that will be historic regardless of which of the top two candidates wins.

If Jennifer Gonzalez With the pro-statehood New Progressive Party winning Tuesday's election, it will be the first time in the island's history that the party has secured three consecutive terms in office.

If Juan Dalmau, running for Puerto Rico's Independence Party and Citizen Victory Movement, wins, it will be the first Victory for a candidate outside the two major parties that have dominated the island's politics for decades. If he comes second, he will also make history as the first third-party candidate.

As of late Tuesday, González had 40% of the vote and Dalmau had 32%, with 73% of precincts reporting, according to partial results released by the Puerto Rico state election commission.

“Until the last vote is counted, no one can claim victory here,” said Dalmau.

Behind González and Dalmau was Jesús Manuel Ortiz, who suffered defeat as his People's Democratic Party came third in a general election for the first time.

Javier Jiménez of Project Dignity, a conservative party founded in 2019, previously conceded after finishing fourth.

Voters began celebrating certain results early, with some clutching brooms while talking about “cleaning the house” and others cheering around a car with a coffin on top.

Early Tuesday, thousands of voters across the U.S. territory stood in long lines with umbrellas in hand, undeterred by heavy rain.

“I feel like there is a chance for change for the first time,” said Jorge Hernández, a 24-year-old art student, as he waited to cast his vote. “Bipartisanship is losing its power. I believe there can be real change.”

For decades, the New Progressive Party and the Popular Democratic Party received at least 90% of the total vote, but in 2016 that began to change. Newer parties are attracting more voters amid Puerto Rico's economic and political turmoil, while a younger generation denounces corruption, persistent power outages and a lack of affordable housing, among other things.

Education, health and public safety were also on voters' minds as they marveled at the long lines despite the rain.

“I’ve never seen it like that before,” said Nadja Oquendo, a 62-year-old retiree.

Faviola Alcalá, a professional surfer, said she was voting for the first time and was thrilled to see the line at her polling station.

“I love it,” she said, adding that she wanted a break from Puerto Rico’s two big parties and more opportunities for young people.

Voters who came out despite the rain included Reggaeton superstar Bad Bunnywho mocked the pro-statehood party and appeared briefly at Dalmau's campaign appearance.

“I trust that we, the people of Puerto Rico, will make the right decision for the future of our people,” he told reporters.

Delayed results

There were long lines at several polling stations due to broken voting machines and other problems, including power outages.

Some voters turned on their phone timers to see how long they would wait in line, while others ate snacks as a street vendor shouted, “Cold water! Cold water!”

Ommy González, a 25-year-old bartender voting for the first time, carried a folding chair and a water bottle.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “Of course we want something different for people.”

González said he wanted a stronger economy and a stronger education system and denounced ongoing political corruption: “Stop taking money and spending it wrong.”

Several voters said they were surprised at how quickly minority and new parties had become serious threats to the two main parties' stronghold in Puerto Rico politics.

“I didn’t see this early, but I’m glad,” said Giulianna Abreu, a 33-year-old publicist.

Even after polling stations officially closed at 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, long lines remained and people already in line were allowed to vote. It may take days for results to be available. In 2020, it took officials four days to release preliminary results.

However, Dalmau said he expects the results for the governor's office to be available late Tuesday: “We are confident that this country will take a historic step.”

Puerto Rico's state election commission is still counting more than 220,000 early and absentee ballots, with counting starting more than two weeks later than usual. Jessika Padilla, the commission's deputy president, said about 40% of those votes had been counted as of Monday.

“We will not take this validation process lightly,” she said.

More than 5,000 inmates out of about 7,400 total also voted, although it is unclear how many of those votes were counted.

Officials are also still receiving allegations of election crimes, including from people who said they received early voting confirmations even though they had not submitted such a request.

A status question and a symbolic vote

Tuesday also marked the seventh time voters were asked about Puerto Rico's political status. The Non-binding referendum offers three options: statehood, independence and independence with free association, in which issues such as foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. dollar would be negotiated.

“We will work to bring equality to our people,” said Jenniffer González of the Pro-Statehood Party.

Party officials have long noted that despite being a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico receives unequal treatment in Medicaid, Medicare and other federal programs.

Statehood received 56% of the vote, followed by independence with 32%, marking the first time that this option came second in referendums that included this election. More than 111,000 ballot papers remained blank.

Regardless of the outcome, a change in status requires approval from the U.S. Congress.

Some voters said Monday that statehood is the only thing that can get Puerto Rico out of the crisis.

Additionally, Puerto Ricans can support Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in a symbolic vote on Tuesday if they wish. While Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, those residing on the island are citizens are not allowed to take part in US presidential elections.

Harris received 73% of the symbolic vote compared to 27% for Trump.

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