Congressman Adriano Espaillat proposes that Dominicans in the United States vote by mail. The Dominican-born congressman, who represents the 13th district in New York, suggests that the Central Electoral Board (JCE) implement a system so that Dominican voters in the United States can mail in their votes. He said the mail is reliable in the United States, where most Dominican expats would vote. He made the comment when interviewed by journalist Dary Terrero for the program, “Abriendo la Mañana”.
He said if this is not possible, the government would be denying the right to vote to around 600,000 voters abroad. “To hold the next elections without the vote of the diaspora, would be a low blow,” he said. He emphasized the Dominican Constitution establishes voting as a sovereign right.
He said that since the May elections were postponed to July, there is time to adopt measures within the constitutional framework to guarantee the vote of Dominicans abroad.
According to the JCE census, 595,879 Dominicans living abroad are called to vote, of which 406,536 live in the United States; 81,506 in Spain and 14,630 in Italy.
The Dominican vote abroad is said to be 7% of the vote, a large enough percentage to make a difference in the results. The Dominican vote abroad is divided by electoral districts that are made up by cities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe. The breakdown by the electoral districts is:
1: Montreal and Toronto in Canada; New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Connecticut in the United States
2: Florida, San Juan in Puerto Rico, Curacao, Panama, St. Maarten and Caracas, Venezuela
3: Madrid and Barcelona in Spain; Amsterdam in the Netherlands; Milan in Italy; Zurich in Switzerland.
In an interview with Esta Noche con Mariasela, on 29 April 2020, Dominican Ambassador to Spain Jose Huertas said that the Spanish authorities are waiting to see how the disease continues to evolve before deciding whether or not to allow the vote.
Seven overseas deputies are elected to represent Dominicans abroad.
Follow the story in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Esta Noche con Mariasela
30 April 2020