P.R. Laws tit. 16, § 4002
The State, by the consent of the governed, constitutes the governing body of every democratic system. The greatness and strength of said body rests primarily on the will and participation of the citizens in the election processes wherefrom the operation and functioning thereof arise.
The right to vote stems from various sources: first, from the right of all human beings to elect their own governments; second, from the United States Constitution; and third, from the Constitution of Puerto Rico-which sets forth the right to universal, equal, secret, direct, and free suffrage, whereby every citizen may cast his vote as dictated by his conscience-and from the statutes that enforce constitutional provisions.
The guarantee of the right to vote is the most effective instrument of citizen expression and participation in a democratic government system. This electoral franchise may be organized through political parties to which a series of rights are recognized, though they are still subject to the rights of individual voters recognized under § 4061 of this title.
This subtitle acknowledges the people’s capability to express their will notwithstanding their political affiliation in order to protect those citizens who wish to do so.
For all of the foregoing, we hereby reassert that the underlying principle of an election law is to guarantee procedural purity whereby every vote is counted as it was cast. Thus, this subtitle is hereby adopted to fully ensure such purity, which is essential for the development of our democracy, while assuring the trust of Puerto Rican voters in election processes that are free from fraud and violence. Additionally, the sole underlying principle of this subtitle is to guarantee that every citizen shall have equal opportunity to participate in all stages of the election process. Furthermore, in recognizing the constitutional rights of all United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico and the fact that the official languages of the Island are both Spanish and English, we believe that an election system in which only the former is used discriminates against those citizens who only speak English, or understand it better, due to their national origin, ethnicity, or race, thus violating the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.
For such reason, both Spanish and English shall be used in every regular or special election process carried out pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, including any process preceding or following the election year and those related to voter registration, issuance of voter identification cards, information to voters, orientation campaigns, and regulation and printing of official and sample ballots, among others.
History —June 1, 2011, No. 78, § 2.002; Dec. 22, 2014, No. 239, § 1.