Caribbean Matters: Puerto Rico grapples with voter fraud

This should be a story that is making headlines here on the U.S. mainland, but because it is about Puerto Rico, it has been virtually ignored. On Nov. 5, Puerto Rico will hold its general elections for governor, resident commissioner (non-voting member of the U.S. Congress), and for its House of Representatives and Senate. 

They will also be holding yet another non-binding status referendum to see whether Puerto Ricans would like to join as the 51st state, be independent, or become a quasi-sovereign state in free association with America.

The two major political parties on the island, the Popular Democratic Party and the New Progressive Party (which is not progressive), who have been holding power for decades, seem to have benefited far too long by being propped up by votes from the grave, according to a new exposé from the Center for Investigative Journalism. 

“The CPI found nearly 900,000 deceased people in the Electoral Register, and thousands of them appeared to have voted in the 2020 and 2016 elections. Fraud is part of a system plagued by corruption for decades.”

The real story seems to be whether these will be fair elections.

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. Hope you’ll join us here every Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.