All the briefs have been submitted in Civil Action Party v Gracia Morales, U.S. District Court, Puerto Rico, 05-2064. The case was filed by two unqualified political parties in Puerto Rico who are trying to get on the ballot in future elections. They complain about the fact that petitions for such purposes in Puerto Rico can be rejected by the government, and then the petitioners are not permitted to double-check the government’s work.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
I know about the problems confronted by the groups which want to break the ballot monopoly in Puerto Rico.
One of their biggest problems is that the petitions are checked by a committee composed of members of the three officially registered parties at the State Elections Commission, and the groups don’t have the right to have observers present. Also, the SEC can invalidate petitions because the signature of the voter is “different” than the signature that appears on the voter registration form, even they don’t have caligraphers present.
The fact remains that no group has been able to register as a statewide political party since 1983, when then San Juan mayor Hernan Padilla registered the Puerto Rican Renewal Party, under whose banner he ran for governor in the 1984 election. Last year after the decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, there were some parties that registered for local races, but none for the entire island.