Court Cases

Belia Arlene Ocasio and Efraín Colón Damiani v. Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE), et als. (Civil Action No. 3:20-cv-01432-PAD) was a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and a New York law firm to allow Puerto Rico's senior citizens, aged 60 and over, to vote by mail or early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs argued that the CEE's policies forced them to choose between their right to vote and their health, given the pandemic's risks. The complaint alleged that the CEE's failure to allow early or absentee voting for seniors was an undue burden on the right to vote, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. A District Court ordered the CEE to make arrangements to allow vote by mail for people 65 years old or older. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico filed a motion for reconsideration, and the case is pending before the Court of Appeals (1st Cir.).