2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SIXTEEN - Election and Registration (§§ 1 — 4255) › Subtitle 6 - Election Code (2011) › Chapter 408 - Procedures Before an Election; Voting (§§ 4141 — 4184) › § 4151 - Ballot

In every general election, three (3) ballots, each in a different background color, shall be designed, one of which shall include, under the insignia of each political party, the appropriate candidates for Governor and Resident Commissioner; another one shall include, under the insignia of each political party, the appropriate candidates for Legislators; and the other one shall include, under the insignia of each political party, the names of their respective candidates for Mayor and Municipal Legislators. The ballot shall be designed in such a way that the voter has total control thereof until the ballot is registered and the vote is recorded in an electronic voting or canvassing device through the voter’s direct interaction with the electronic voting or canvassing device. Instructions shall be printed both in Spanish and English.
Subject to the provisions of this subtitle, the Commission shall determine, through regulations, the design and text that shall appear on the ballots to be used in each election. Voting instructions both in Spanish and English, respectively, shall be printed on each ballot. The text of the instructions in English shall read as follows, according to the ballot in question:
State Ballot:
INSTRUCTIONS TO CAST A VOTE ON THE STATE BALLOT
On this ballot you have the right to vote for one candidate for Governor and one candidate for Resident Commissioner.
HOW TO CAST A STRAIGHT-PARTY VOTE
In order to vote for straight party, place a single valid mark in the blank space under the emblem for your party of preference and make no other markings on the ballot.
HOW TO CAST A SPLIT-TICKET (SPLIT BALLOT) VOTE
To cast a split ticket vote, place a valid “mark” next to a candidate or a combination of candidates outside of your party’s column, or write-in the name or another person of your preference for the appropriate office using the last column for Direct-Nomination Votes. Bear in mind that you can only vote for one (1) candidate for Governor and one (1) candidate for Resident Commissioner.
HOW TO VOTE FOR INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES
When a voter has no interest in voting for a particular party and wants to vote exclusively for individual candidates, the voter must place a valid “mark” next to the candidate or candidates of his or her preference, or may vote for other persons not listed on the ballot as candidates by writing their names under the appropriate position title using the Direct Nomination [sic] column. Bear in mind that you may only vote for one (1) candidate for Governor and one (1) candidate for Resident Commissioner.
Municipal Ballot:
INSTRUCTIONS TO CAST A VOTE ON THE MUNICIPAL BALLOT
On this ballot you have the right to vote for one candidate for Mayor and the exact number of Municipal Legislators shown on one of the columns. If you vote for more than one Mayoral candidate or more than the number of Municipal Legislators you are entitled to elect, you will void your vote for those offices.
HOW TO CAST A STRAIGHT-PARTY VOTE
In order to vote for a straight party, place a single valid “mark” in the blank space under the emblem for your party of preference and make no other markings on the ballot. This single “mark” will be valid for the Mayoral candidate and all Municipal Legislature candidates under that emblem.
HOW TO CAST A SPLIT-TICKET (SPLIT BALLOT) VOTE
To cast a split ticket vote, place a valid “mark” under the emblem for your party of preference and place a “mark” next to the candidate outside of your party’s column, or write in the name of another person of your preference for the appropriate office using the last column for Direct Nomination [sic] Votes. Bear in mind that you can only vote for one (1) candidate for Mayor and no more than the total number of Municipal Legislators listed on one of the columns.
HOW TO VOTE FOR INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES
When a voter has no interest in voting for a particular party and wants to vote exclusively for individual candidates, the voter must place a valid “mark” next to the candidate or candidates of his or her preference, or may vote for others [sic] persons not listed on the ballot as candidates by writing their names under the appropriate position title using the Direct Nomination [sic] column. Bear in mind that you may only vote for one (1) candidate for Mayor and no more than the total number of Municipal Legislators you are entitled to elect for this Municipality.
HOW TO VOTE FOR INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES
A voter interested in voting exclusively for an independent candidate may place a single “mark” or valid marking inside the blank square titled “Independent Candidates” and that single marking will count for all independent candidates in said column.
Legislative Ballot:
INSTRUCTIONS TO CAST A VOTE ON THE LEGISLATIVE BALLOT
On this ballot you have the right to vote for only five (5) legislative candidates, as follows: one (1) single candidate for District Representative; two (2) candidates for District Senator; one (1) single candidate for Representative At-Large; one (1) single candidate for Senator At-Large.
HOW TO CAST A STRAIGHT-PARTY VOTE
In order to vote for a single party, place a single valid “mark” in the blank space under the emblem for your party of preference and make no other markings on the ballot. This single “mark” will be valid for all five legislative candidates you are entitled to vote for on this ballot. For Representative and Senator At-Large positions, only the candidate in the first position on the ballot under the party emblem for which you have voted will get the single-party [sic] vote for the precinct: the Representative in position No. 4 and the Senator in position No. 10.
HOW TO CAST A SPLIT-TICKET (SPLIT BALLOT) VOTE
To cast a split-ticket vote, place a valid “mark” under the emblem for your party of preference and place a “mark” next to one or more candidates outside of your party’s column, or write in the name of another person of your preference using the last column for Direct Nomination [sic] Votes. Bear in mind that you may not vote for more candidates than those stated earlier. (No more than one District Representative; no more than two District Senators; no more than one Representative At-Large; no more than one Senator At-Large). This also becomes a mixed vote [sic] ballot when you place a marking for another Representative or Senator At-Large candidate in the same column for the party, under which you voted, that may be different from the one shown on position # 4 or position # 10. When casting a mixed [sic] vote, the vote you give to another candidate is lost to the candidate for that same position under the party emblem for which you voted.
HOW TO VOTE FOR INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES
When a voter has no interest in voting for a particular party and wants to vote exclusively for one or more candidates, the voter must place a valid “mark” next to the candidates of his or her preference, or may write the name(s) of other persons of the voter’s preference not listed as candidates, under the appropriate position title in the Direct Nomination [sic] column.
HOW TO VOTE FOR INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES
A voter interested in voting exclusively for an independent candidate may place a single “mark” or valid marking inside the blank square titled “Independent Candidates” and that single marking will count for all independent candidates in said column.
The text on the ballots shall be printed with black ink on heavy paper or other thick and opaque material, so that the voter may cast the vote by making written marks that will not show through to the back.
The insignia of each political party shall be printed at the top of the appropriate column, with sufficient space for the voter to make a mark under said insignia, and thereunder, immediately after it, the list of the candidates together with the office for which they have been designated. When there are two (2) or more offices having the same title, said title shall appear only once above the list of candidates for such office. The names of the candidates shall be placed at a uniform distance from each other to allow for their legible printing, and with the name of each candidate to the left, a number and sufficient blank space for any valid mark. The name of the candidate that appears on the ballot shall always include at least one given name and one legal surname.
The ballot for legislators shall, at least, have the insignia for each political party printed at the top of the appropriate column, with sufficient space for the voter to make his/her mark under said insignia, and thereunder, there shall be a thick line, and immediately under that, the name of the candidates for District Representative, and below it, separated by another thick line, the names of the candidates for District Senators. Immediately under that, separated by yet another thick line, there shall be the names of the candidates for Representatives-at-Large, and below them, separated by another thick line, the names of the candidates for Senators-at-Large. The Commission shall direct that the names of the Senators and Representatives-at-Large be printed in the same sequence in which they were certified for each municipality or precinct by the central governing body of the political party entitled to nominate candidates.
Each ballot shall also contain a column with the heading “Write-In”, without any insignia, and which shall contain, like all other columns corresponding to political parties, the titles of the offices which are to be voted on in the election and, under said titles, instead of the names of the candidates, as many blank lines as there are candidates to be voted on for each class of office. A voter wishing to vote for candidates that do not appear in the columns of the political parties, or as independent candidates, may do so by writing the name or names in the corresponding place, in the write-in column, and may also vote for other candidates appearing in other spaces on the ballot by making a mark in the space of each one of said candidates, provided they are not incompatible with the candidates voted for in the “write-in” column.
The special commission shall provide, through regulations, the design and content of the ballots to be used in case of a special election in which a political party nominates more than one (1) candidate to fill a vacancy in an elective public office left by an official who was elected in representation of said political party.
On the other hand, in the case of a special election to fill a vacant elective public office left by an official who was elected as an independent candidate or in representation of a political party that failed to nominate any candidate to fill the vacancy within the term established herein, the design and content of the ballot to be used in said special election shall be provided by the Commission, through regulations.
History —June 1, 2011, No. 78, § 9.011; Nov. 21, 2011, No. 230, § 23; Dec. 22, 2014, No. 239, § 36.