P.R. Laws tit. 16, § 4171
Any voter who has solid grounds to believe that a person who has come to vote is doing so illegally, based on one or more of the grounds set forth in § 4077 of this title, except for subsection (2), may challenge the vote of said person on the grounds that made it illegal, pursuant to the provisions of this subtitle, but such challenge shall not prevent the voter from casting his vote. In the case of a challenge on the grounds of age, it shall be the duty of the challenger to bring and provide to the Polling Place Board with a birth certificate or a negative certificate which indicates that said voter is not of legal voting age. Likewise, in the case of a challenge on the grounds that the challenged individual has died, it shall be necessary for the challenger to furnish a death certificate, or if it is based on the grounds that the individual challenged is registered more than once in the General Voter Registry, the challenger shall furnish a certification from the Commission to such effect.
In the case of a challenge on the grounds of lack of citizenship, it shall be necessary for the challenger to bring and provide the Polling Place Board with a certificate from the competent authority indicating that the individual challenged is not a citizen of the United States of America.
The ballots of all voters whose vote is challenged, together with the documents and information that sustain the challenge, shall be placed in a sealed and labeled envelope issued by the Commission, or in any other means that guarantees the secrecy of the vote, and shall include the name of the challenged voter, his/her voter identification card number, the grounds for such a challenge, the voter identification card number of the challenger, and his/her name in print. If the challenged voter denies the challenge, he/she shall do so by signing under oath through the means provided by the Commission; but if he/she fails to deny it, his/her vote shall not be counted or adjudicated. The voter shall be given notice of the grounds for the challenge and his/her right to contest. Also, he/she shall be notified that if he/she fails to deny the challenge, his/her vote shall be rendered null and void. To that effect, the voter shall be read the following: “You are entitled to contest this challenge. If you fail to make a statement denying such challenge, your vote shall not be counted and rendered null and void”.
Challenged ballots shall not be adjudicated in the polling place, and such ballots, as well as the documents related to such challenge, shall be returned in the medium determined by the Commission, along with the election material being sent to the Commission, in order to determine their adjudication. The ruling of the Commission shall be based solely on evidence.
History —June 1, 2011, No. 78, § 9.031; Nov. 21, 2011, No. 230, § 27; Dec. 22, 2014, No. 239, § 40.