Puerto Rico rejects voter registration deadline extension amid long lines

In Puerto Rico, officials have denied a request to extend the voter registration deadline, which is set for September 21, ahead of the general election on November 5. This decision came after significant public outcry regarding long lines at registration centers, where hundreds have waited for hours to register. The two dominant political parties, the Popular Democratic Party and the New Progressive Party, voted against the extension, citing concerns that it would disrupt essential electoral processes, including ballot printing and early voting requests. The electoral commissioner for the Popular Democratic Party, Karla Angleró, emphasized that extending the deadline would delay critical preparations for the election. Meanwhile, the Puerto Rican Independence Party and the Citizen Victory Movement had advocated for a one-month extension to accommodate the surge in registration demand. Critics have pointed out that the state elections commission has faced scrutiny for its handling of the registration process, particularly as tens of thousands of electronically registered voters remain unrecorded. Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the elections commission for insufficient resources to manage the influx of new voters. They highlighted that chronic power outages have led to the temporary closure of registration centers, further complicating the situation for those wishing to register. The ACLU had also called for an extension of the registration deadline to ensure that all interested voters could participate in the upcoming election. As the election date approaches, the rejection of the extension request raises concerns about voter accessibility and the potential impact on the electoral process in Puerto Rico, where political dynamics are shifting with the emergence of new parties challenging the traditional dominance of the main parties.