Hurricane Maria damaged a significant portion of Puerto Rico’s election infrastructure. The storage facility where voting machines are housed went without power and air conditioning for over five months, which resulted in mold and rust and prevented equipment from receiving proper maintenance.

Roberto Benítez and Anibal Zambrana discuss how those entities have assisted the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission and how they might be able to assist other states dealing with similar disasters.

While the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission continues to repair systems damaged by Hurricane Maria, they are also moving forward with the purchase of new electronic poll books, which will provide instant voter validation on Election Day.

The Puerto Rico State Elections Commission (CEE) is dealing with the large number of displaced voters and uncertainty surrounding how many may return by the 2020 Federal Elections. CEE representatives outline how their office has helped displaced Puerto Ricans to better understand their eligibility to participate in Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico State Elections Commission representatives Roberto Benítez and Anibal Zambrana outline how the Elections Commission is rebuilding the island’s election systems to improve upon what was lost and the role that 2018 Help America Vote Act funds have played in the recovering and improving Puerto Rico’s election system.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) heard from members of the Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Working Group comprised of election officials from across the country with experience administering elections in the aftermath of catastrophic natural and man-made disasters