Puerto Rico General Elections of 2004
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The Puerto Rico General Elections of 2004 took place on Election Day, Tuesday, November 2, 2004. After a count by the State Commission of Elections, the winner was inaugurated to a four-year term as Governor of Puerto Rico on January 2, 2005.
The post of Governor of Puerto Rico and the entire House of Representatives and the entire Senate, as well as the Mayors of the municipalities of Puerto Rico, and the Resident Commissioner were also elected for four-year terms.
For the first time in Puerto Rican history, citizens unable to mobilize to voting colleges for medical reasons, but capable of practicing their right to vote, were visited in their own homes and hospitals so that they could exercise their vote. [citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Candidates for Governor
- Anibal Acevedo Vila for the Popular Democratic Party
- Pedro Rosello for the New Progressive Party
- Ruben Berrios for the Puerto Rican Independence Party
[edit] Candidates for Resident Commissioner
- Edwin Irizarry Mora for the Puerto Rican Independence Party
- Luis Fortuño for the New Progressive Party
- Roberto Prats for the Popular Democratic Party
[edit] Results
Main article: Results of the Puerto Rico General Elections of 2004.
| Candidates - Parties | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aníbal Acevedo Vilá - Popular Democratic Party | 963,303 | 48.40 | |
| Pedro Rosselló - New Progressive Party | 959,737 | 48.22 | |
| Rubén Berríos Martínez - Puerto Rican Independence Party | 54,551 | 2.74 | |
| Others | 12,781 | 0.64 | |
| Total (turnout 81.7 %) | 100.0 | ||
| Source: (Spanish) CEEPUR | |||
| Parties | District Votes |
District % |
District Seats |
At Large Votes |
At Large % |
At Large Seats |
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista) | 936,030 | 48.4 | 26 | 886,151 | 46.3 | 6 | 32 | |
| Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democrático) | 901,326 | 46.6 | 14 | 824,472 | 43.1 | 4 | 18 | |
| Puerto Rican Independence Party (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño) | 77,289 | 4.0 | 0 | 186,197 | 9.7 | 1 | 1 | |
| Civic Alternative Party (Partido Alternativa Ciudadana) | 1,682 | 0.1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Civil Action Party (Partido Acción Civil) | 423 | 0.0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Others | 1,161 | 0.1 | 0 | 457 | 0.0 | 0 | - | |
| Total | 1,917,911 | 100.0 | 40 | 1,897,277 | 100.0 | 11 | 51 | |
| Blank and Null Votes | 17,245 | 0.9 | - | 17,245 | 0.9 | - | - | |
| Total votes cast | 1,935,156 | - | - | 1,914,522 | - | - | - | |
| Source: (Spanish) Elections Puerto Rico | ||||||||
| Parties | District Votes |
District % |
District Seats |
At Large Votes |
At Large % |
At Large Seats |
Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista) | 1,845,204 | 48.6 | 11 | 845,228 | 44.3 | 6 | 17 | |
| Popular Democratic Party (Partido Popular Democrático) | 1,768,374 | 46.6 | 5 | 767,626 | 40.3 | 4 | 9 | |
| Puerto Rican Independence Party (Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño) | 160,632 | 4.2 | 0 | 178,541 | 9.4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independence Movement of the Eastern Region (Movimiento Independiente Region Este) | 2,936 | 0.1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Independent | - | - | - | 97,673 | 5.1 | 0 | - | |
| Others | 826 | 0.0 | 0 | 297 | 0.0 | 0 | - | |
| Total (turnout 81.7 %) | 3,777,972 | 100.0 | 16 | 1,889,365 | 100.0 | 11 | 27 | |
| Blank and Null Votes | 17,245 | 0.4 | - | 17,245 | 0.7 | - | - | |
| Total votes cast | 3,795,217 | - | - | 1,906,610 | - | - | - | |
| Source: (Spanish) Elections Puerto Rico | ||||||||
The 2004 General Elections were the second closest in Puerto Rican history. PPD candidate Anibal Acevedo Vila got 953, 459 votes, or 48.36%. PNP candidate Pedro Rossello received 949, 579 votes, or 48.19%. Ruben Berrios received 52,660 votes, or 2.5%.
Anibal Acevedo Vila was ultimately the winner of the gubernatorial election, but Puerto Rican Law requires that a full recount of the election be carried out since the margin of victory was so small. The full recount was carried, reconfirming Acevedo Vila's lead on the electoral polls. This victory was declared almost a month and a half after the general election. As a by product of the recount, controversy divided the public opinion on the victory because of a vote that became known as "pivazo". When Acevedo became Governor, he was the first Governor in Puerto Rican history that does not have a Resident Commissioner of his same party (in part thanks to the "pivazo" vote), since Luis Fortuño of the PNP won the election against Roberto Prats for the post of Resident Commissioner. [citation needed]
The PNP won 42 mayoralty races, while the PPD won 36. [citation needed]
The PNP also won 17 of 27 seats in the Senate, and 32 of the 51 seats in the House of Representatives. [citation needed] Two days after the 2004 election, the party's caucuses nominated Kenneth McClintock as the next Senate President and Jose Aponte as the next Speaker of the House. [citation needed] Both were formally elected to those posts at the inaugural sessions of their respective legislative bodies on January 10, 2005. [citation needed]
Seen as a whole, the PNP's victories in almost two thirds of legislative races, well over half of all city hall races and Puerto Rico's non-voting Congressional seat, suggest that voters specifically rejected the party's only major candidate for office, gubernatorial nominee Pedro Rossello, who later unsuccessfully attempted, throughout the year following his defeat, to unseat and replace Kenneth McClintock as Senate president, a contest which has effectively ended. [citation needed]
[edit] External link
- State Commission of Elections of Puerto Rico - official site (in Spanish)
