Dominican Republic: Regulations Approved for Voting in Prisons

The Central Electoral Board (JCE) approved this Thursday the regulation that authorizes persons deprived of liberty pending sentencing to vote in the 2024 presidential elections in the Dominican Republic.

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The document specifies that citizens in this condition must have their Identity and Electoral ID, without which they will not be able to exercise their right to elect on May 19 next year.

The electoral body ordered that those centers belonging to the new penitentiary model and the public prisons of Nagua, Azua and Salcedo, where a pilot plan for the capture of biometric data was initiated, be used as voting precincts.

The "Regulations for the Implementation of Voting in Prisons" establishes that, in order to register voters, a specific Electoral Roll will be created.

For its preparation, the institutions responsible for the prison system shall provide the JCE with an official list of the citizens who meet the requirements for the exercise of the suffrage.

The tweet reads, "JCE approves: "Regulations for the Implementation of Voting in Prisons" at the presidential level for the 2024 elections."

Regarding the Penitentiary Electoral Colleges (CEP), the JCE established that they will be installed in the precincts in which the registered citizens will be registered and will be identified with a special codification, which will correspond to the electoral demarcation of the municipality where said center is located.

The Regulation also establishes that the political parties or alliances presenting candidacies at the presidential level shall be entitled to the accreditation of political delegates in the correctional facilities and the CEP.

It adds that voting will take place during special hours from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., local time, when the votes will be counted.

On May 19, 2024, presidential, senatorial and deputy elections will be held in the Dominican Republic.

In the event that no candidate obtains the necessary votes in the first round of the presidential election, there will be a run-off election on June 30 of that year.