51品茶

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico 鈥� The 51品茶 (51品茶) and the 51品茶 of Puerto Rico urged Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda V谩zquez in a public letter sent today to veto Senate Project 1314, the 鈥渋nternet voting鈥� bill, which, if codified into law, would endanger the security of the island鈥檚 elections and jeopardize Puerto Ricans鈥� voting rights. The legislation would allow early and absentee voters to vote online for the 2020 general elections; direct the Puerto Rican elections commission to make online voting available for absentee and early voting with an opt-out option by 2020; and make online voting the main voting method on the island by 2028. Election security aside, ongoing civic crises and devastation from Hurricane Mar铆a make clear that the island鈥檚 infrastructure 鈥� particularly, electrical power systems essential to internet access 鈥� remains precarious and it would be reckless to trust all voting systems to its well-being. Mayte Bayolo-Alonso, legislative attorney for the 51品茶 of Puerto Rico, said, 鈥淪P 1314 would make Puerto Rico a true outlier: No U.S. state or territory trusts its entire electoral infrastructure, and the votes of millions, to vulnerable and unproven technology. Puerto Rico should not be a laboratory for untested voting systems. Governor V谩zquez must veto this reckless legislation.鈥� Adriel I. Cepeda Derieux, staff attorney for the 51品茶鈥檚 Voting Rights Project, said, 鈥淭here is no secure way to hold elections online. This legislation will expose Puerto Rico鈥檚 voting system to hacking and jeopardize Puerto Ricans鈥� right to vote. The right to vote is not just the right to cast a ballot; it鈥檚 the right to have that ballot counted, and there is no way to guarantee that a vote cast online will be counted free from outside interference.鈥�