Vota Fácil is a project that evolved from previous efforts carried out by the San Juan Hub in general elections processes. Vota Fácil seeks to engage in advocacy and lobbying activities to accomplish amendments in the current Electoral Code of Puerto Rico which hinders voting participation. 

 

Initially, driven to understand the priorities of youth, the initiative, known as ¿Cómo Vamos Puerto Rico? (How are we doing Puerto Rico?) partnered with one of the most prestigious consulting companies in the country to distribute a survey and gather thoughts and perceptions of youth. The launch of the website where results were shared was the beginning of many more engagement activities that led to the following advocacy priorities for the San Juan Hub.

 

To purposefully maintain the online engagement and promote a call to action, in 2020 the project partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to maximize impact and outreach. This new turn, branded as “Tu Voto No Se Deja” sought to empower the people through voter education. 

 

In-depth information on impact for each part of this evolving process can be found at the end.

Vota Fácil

Problem Statement: 

It is currently too difficult to vote in Puerto Rico. Voters cannot vote by mail, have a narrow window of time to complete vote registration, and elections are decided by a plurality instead of a majority.

 

Target Group: 

Young voters in Puerto Rico. 

 

Proposed Solution: 

The project is currently advocating for changes to the electoral law on the island. Three specific amendments are being sought: (1) extend the inscription period up to the official elections’ day (allowing same-day registration), (2) expand the right to early voting and in-mail ballots, (3) move towards Ranked Choice Voting.

 

Milestones and Timelines: 

Amendments to the new electoral law “Código Electoral de Puerto Rico 2021”: 

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  Accomplish at least one of our proposals presented into the legislature by summer 2022.

  
  


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  Accomplish at least one of our proposals signed into law by the end of 2022.

  
  

 

Resources needed: 

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  Senate or House Representative as ally 

  
  


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  At least one NGO support in capacity building

  
  


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  At least one community-based organization lobbying on our behalf

  
  

Short Term Goals/Results:

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  Completed meetings with key legislators in the House of Representatives.

  
  


• Complete meetings with key senators (currently in progress)

 

Long Term Change: 

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  Amendments to the Electoral Code shall promote an increase of voting participation.

  
  

 

Metrics: 

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  Number of representatives and/or senators to back the project (votes in favor) 

  
  


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  Number of commitments from legislators 

  
  


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  % increase in voter registration 

  
  

 

Collaborators: 

• ACLU of Puerto Rico 

Historical evolution of our General Elections improvement efforts

CHALLENGE

Puerto Rico has been going through an economic and social crisis for the past 10 years. Currently, the country is U$73B in debt. Under a new law called PROMESA, the U.S. Congress appointed a fiscal control board to manage the debt. This next election cycle would be crucial for the island’s future. Global Shapers San Juan Hub wanted to make sure that the voice of the youth was elevated so we could have a seat on the table where decisions were being made.

 

SOLUTION

The San Juan Hub decided that in order to elevate the voice of the youth we need to understand what young people thought and cared about. We partner with one of the most prestigious consulting companies in the country to make a survey to gather the thoughts and perceptions of youth. Together, we called the initiative ¿Cómo Vamos Puerto Rico? (How are we doing Puerto Rico?) and with that, we created a website so all the results could be accessed online. After the results were launched, we’ve done several online engagements to educate people about the importance of participating in the election process. We have also partnered with different organizations to participate in forums and digital initiatives.

 

GOALS 

Elevate the opinions and perceptions of young people between the ages of 18-34 for people that have interest in Puerto Rico Open spaces of dialogue using the data and opinions from young people Monitor the progress of the country using the survey as a base 

 

RESULTS 

1,667 respondents from youth from 76 municipalities out of 78 (4x the sample we needed) The results of the survey were featured on the front page on the biggest newspaper in the country, reaching around ~1.2 million readers physically Featured in various radio and TV shows. Our biggest post in FB reached ~348K people and was shared ~4.4K times From April 2016 until now our FB page has increased over 159% From Oct 3 till Oct 30 we’ve reached ~475K and people have engaged with our pots ~91K.

 

PHASE Elections 2020

During 2020 Como Vamos Puerto Rico took a new direction and created an alliance with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in order to maximize the impact of the project. Under this alliance the project took the name Tu Voto No Se Deja. This new initiative sought to empower the people through voter education; with a focus on providing valuable, verified and based information (avoiding fake news) so that those who decided to exercise their right to vote would do informed.

 

Under Tu Voto No Se Deja, a website was designed with all the information related to the candidates for governor. This information included: Academic preparation and their positions on the most important issues of the country. The website had more than 30,000 visits in the two months prior to the electoral event with 80% of the traffic coming from mobile devices, one of the main aspects of this project. Likewise, the website was shared by the main media of the country as one of the main and must trusted sources of information about the candidates.

 

Another aspect was the realization of a series of Facebook Lives where, accompanied by organizations and individuals involved with the electoral system, we guided the audience on important topics such as: Health and Public Policy, the 2020 Census, Corruption and Transparency, How to Exercise the Informed Vote, among other topics of importance to the voter. These videos had an average of 1,500 to 2,000 views and a reach of more than 3k people.