Date |
Event |
|---|---|
| Thursday, February 16, 2017 | -The Permanent Voter Registration Boards open to service voters. |
| Friday, February 17, 2017 | - The State Election Commission shall announce the Plebiscite through a Proclamation to be published in three (3) newspapers of general circulation in Puerto Rico, in both Spanish and English; and in one (1) newspaper of general circulation in the mainland United States.
- The State Election Commission shall hold a public drawing to determine the emblems and the order in which the status options shall appear on the ballots for the June 11, 2017 Plebiscite, and the October 8, 2017 Referendum. The State Election Commission shall invite the press, the general public, and at least two judges from the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico to serve as witnesses. The public drawing process and the results thereof shall be certified by a notary public. |
| Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | -The State Election Commission shall provide a conspicuous space on its webpage entitled “Puerto Rico Immediate Decolonization Act of 2017.” Also, it shall include the full text, both in English and Spanish, of the “Puerto Rico Immediate Decolonization Act of 2017,” the Proclamation announcing the Plebiscite; the pertinent parts, as stated in this Act, of Public Law 113-76 (2014), and the requirements provided for in the “Report of the Committee on Appropriations (2014)” related to said Federal law; “Section 402. Right of Puerto Rico to determine its future political status,” Public Law 114-187 (2016), “Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA)”; the sample ballot for the Plebiscite and the Referendum; the elections timetable; and the Regulations adopted for the Plebiscite and the Referendum once approved.
-The State Election Commission’s Chairwoman shall deliver to the Puerto Rico Secretary of State in Spanish and Spanish, the following: printed copies of the ballot drafts certified by the State Election Commission that shall be used in the June 11, 2017 Plebiscite, and in the October 8, 2017 Referendum; copies of the “Puerto Rico Election Act,” and copies of the Plebiscite Proclamation. |
| Friday, March 3, 2017 | - Deadline for the Commission to have completed the purge of the General Voter Registry, including the identification and “inactivation” of deceased and duplicate voters as well as of active and duly qualified voters, who did not vote in two consecutive general elections (2012 and 2016). |
| Sunday, March 5, 2017 | -Deadline (30 days after the approval of the “Puerto Rico Immediate Decolonization Act of 2017”) for a political party to request representative priority and be considered as the “main representative” of one of the status options. (Article IX “ Certification to Represent) |
| Tuesday 7 March 2017 | -Deadline to adopt or ammend the regulations that shall govern the Plebiscite or the Referendum in accordance with the Election Act. |
| Saturday, March 11, 2017 |
-The State Election Commission shall present a certified proposal with the design and the details of the massive voter education campaign on the plebiscite process, the sample ballot, and the status options of the Plebiscite. -The State Election Commission shall present the budget plan for all other total expenditures of the Plebiscite. |
| Saturday, March 17, 2017 |
-Deadline in which the State Election Commission should have finished sending notices to “inactive” voters who failed to vote in two consecutive elections (2012 and 2016). |
| Monday, March 27 to Friday, March 31, 2017 |
-Voter Registration Board visits to Penal Institutions for voter registration and vote requests. |
| Tuesday, March 28, 2017 (Not later than 75 days before) |
-Polling Station. The local commission with the approval of the Commission shall determine the location of polling stations in polling stations within the electoral unit in which the constituent voters are located no later than 75 days before an election. |
| Wednesday, April 12, 2017 (60 days before) |
-Deadline for the political parties, citizen groups or politicial action committees that have been certified by the State Election Commission as the “main representative” of each one of the two status options (ballot columns) shall be called to coordinate the distribution of election officials, and notify so in writing to the State Election Commission. (Article IX Section 1 (i)) |
| Monday, April 17, 2017 (55 days in advance) |
-Deadline to begin printing ballots. |
| Friday, April 21, 2017 | -The State Election Commission shall publish simultaneously, in three (3) newspapers of general circulation in Puerto Rico, the sample ballots to be used in the June 11, 2017 Plebiscite and in the October 8, 2017 Referendum. |
| Monday, April 24, 2017 (48 days before) |
-The State Election Commission shall begin the the education campaign no later than 48 days before the event. |
| Thursday, April 27, 2017 | -Deadline for sending absentee ballots to “uniformed” and overseas voters and their dependents (UOCAVA). |
| Friday, April 28, 2017 | -Deadline for Voter Registration
-Deadline for voter registration requests to vote in the plebiscite, make transfers, relocations, request absentee vote, early voting, in home disability voting and disability voting at the polling center. |
| Thursday, May 12, 2017 | -Deadline for sending absentee ballots to voters in the the mainland United States and Puerto Rico. |
| Saturdaty, May 20, 2017 | -Election Drill |
| Saturday, May 27, 2017 | Deadline to request early voting for the following categories: - health professionals and employees - Judges from the Court of First Instance and Court of Appeals assigned by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court to attend election cases on election day. |
| Monday, May 29, 2017 | -The Commission shall publish the sample plebiscite ballots a second time. |
| Sunday, June 4, 2017 | -Delivery of briefcases with In Home Disability Voting ballots at the Permanent Voter Registration Boards. -Delivery of briefcases with In Home Disability Voting ballots at the Permanent Voter Registration Boards. |
| From Tuesday, 6 to Saturday, June 10, 2017 | -In Home Disability Voting. |
| Tuesday, June 6, 2017 | -The Commission shall publish the sample plebiscite ballots a third time. |
| Thursday, June 8, 2017 | - Delivery of briefcases with Inmate Early Voting ballots at the Permanent Voter Registration Boards. |
| Friday, June 9, 2017 | -Inmate Early Voting -Delivery of regular Early Voting at the Permanent Voter Registration Boards per precinct. -Inmate Early Voting pickup |
| Saturday, June 10, 2017 | -Early Voting at precinct and State Election Commission employees |
| Sunday, June 11, 2017 | -Before 8:00 AM place the Sample Plebiscite Ballots posters in front of the polling stations. -Prohibition against open Political Propaganda Locals within 100 meters of polling stations. -At 8:00 AM all polling stations shall be open. -At 3:00 PM all polling stations shall close (unless there are voters waiting in line). -All election issues that are filed shall be resolved within the hour of their presentation. -At 8:00 AM the Absentee Vote canvass shall initiate. -(The same optical scanning vote counting system used during the November 8, 2016 General Elections shall be used). - Dry Law shall only apply from 8:00AM until 3:00PM (Article 12.021 of the Election Act). |
| Monday, June 12, 2017 | -Partial Results- The Commission shall combine the results of the polling stations of each Electoral Unit in each precinct, as they are received, so as to issue partial election results not later than at noon of the day following the election. (Article 10.018(a) of the Election Act) |
| Wednesday, June 14, 2017 | - Preliminary Result- The Commission shall inform the preliminary result no later than seventy-two (72) hours following the day of an election. (Article 10.008 (b) of the Electoral Law) |
| 48 hours after counting | Certification of the Plebiscite Results to the Governor of Puerto Rico, Legislative Assembly and Secretary of State following the format included in the “Puerto Rico Immediate Decolonization Act of 2017”. |
| 12 months after the Consultation (From the certification of the consultation) |
The State Election Commission shall preserve all ballots and tally sheets of the Plebiscite and the Referendum, as the case may be, for a term of not less than twelve (12) months, after the certification of the results of the October 8, 2017 Referendum, or in its default, as of the certification of the results of the June 11, 2017 Plebiscite. Once said term elapses, ballots and tally sheets may be destroyed unless any judicial or administrative proceeding is pending, in which case, said ballots and tally sheets shall be kept until said proceeding concludes or until the Court’s decision becomes final and binding. |