Puerto Rican officials start counting disputed votes after ruling
/
Elections officials began counting thousands of disputed ballots on
Thursday, one day after a federal appeals court ruling that dealt a
blow to the pro-statehood candidate's efforts to have them invalidated.
Officials have started including the ballots in an ongoing recount of
the extremely close Nov. 2 elections, said Aurelio Gracia, the
president of the State Elections Commission. "I think we should
count them for the precision and order of the process,'' he said.
The decision came a day after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in
Boston ruled that Puerto Rico's Supreme Court, not a federal judge on
the island, had jurisdiction over the ballots, which mostly favor
Anibal Acevedo Vila, the candidate who supports keeping the island's
status as a U.S. commonwealth. The ruling was a defeat for former Gov.
Pedro Rossello, who had asked U.S. District Judge Daniel Dominguez to
throw them out. Puerto Rico's Supreme Court already declared the
ballots valid in an earlier lawsuit. Leaders of Rossello's New
Progressive party have said they are considering appealing to the U.S.
Supreme Court. But Acevedo Vila, of the Popular Democratic Party,
suggested that Wednesday's ruling all but ensured he would prevail in
the recount. Preliminary election results from Nov. 2 showed Acevedo
Vila narrowly leading Rossello 48.38 percent to 48.18 percent.
The disputed elections have intensified divisions in the Caribbean
island of 4 million residents who have argued for decades over whether
the island should remain a U.S. possession, become a U.S. state or move
toward independence. [more]
- Pro-statehood candidate may ask 1st Circuit to reconsider [more]
- Boston judges rule PR court should decide election [more]
