2020 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary

The 2020 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary took place on July 12, 2020.[1] The primary was scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 29, 2020, but Puerto Rican governor Wanda Vazquez postponed the date to April 26, 2020,[2] amid concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico.[3] The approved delay was signed by the Puerto Rican governor on March 21.[2] It had then been postponed indefinitely until a date was chosen.[4] The Puerto Rico primary is an open primary, with the territory awarding 59 delegates, of which 51 are pledged delegates allocated on the basis of the results of the primary.

2020 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary

July 12, 2020
59 delegates (51 pledged, 8 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention
Candidate Joe Biden Bernie Sanders Michael Bloomberg (withdrawn) Home state Delaware Vermont New York Delegate count 44 5 2 Popular vote 3,930 932 894 Percentage 56.0% 13.3% 12.7%
Election results by senatorial district   Joe Biden

Candidates

The following candidates will be on the ballot in Puerto Rico:

Running

• Joe Biden
• Bernie Sanders (suspended)

Withdrawn

• Michael Bloomberg
• Pete Buttigieg
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Amy Klobuchar
• Tom Steyer
• Elizabeth Warren

Procedure

The Puerto Rico Democratic primary was originally scheduled for June 7, 2020,[5] but on August 2, 2019, Governor Ricardo Rosselló signed a law that moved the date to the last Sunday in March (March 29).[6] Due to concerns amid the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the primary has been postponed to July 12, 2020.[3]

In the open primary, candidates must meet a threshold of 15 percent at the senatorial district level or across the entire territory in order to be considered viable. The 51 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of the 51 pledged delegates, between 4 and 5 are allocated to each of the territory's 8 senatorial districts and another 7 are allocated to party leaders and elected officials (PLEO[lower-alpha 1] delegates[lower-alpha 1] delegates[lower-alpha 1] delegates[lower-alpha 1] delegates[lower-alpha 1] delegates[lower-alpha 1] delegates[lower-alpha 1] delegates), in addition to 11 at-large pledged delegates. These delegate totals do not account for pledged delegate bonuses or penalties from timing or clustering.[7]

On June 20, 2020, the state convention will vote on the 11 pledged at-large and 7 PLEO delegates to send to the Democratic National Convention. In addition, should presidential candidates be entitled to more delegates than delegate candidates presented, the additional delegates will be chosen at the state convention. The 51 pledged delegates Puerto Rico sends to the national convention will be joined by 8 unpledged PLEO delegates (7 members of the Democratic National Committee and the governor).[7]

Results

2020 Puerto Rico Democratic presidential primary[8]

Candidate	Votes	%	Delegates[9]
Joe Biden	3,930	55.97	44
Bernie Sanders (suspended)	932	13.27	5
Michael Bloomberg (withdrawn)	894	12.73	2
Undervotes	356	5.07
Blank Ballots	275	3.92
Tulsi Gabbard (withdrawn)	194	2.76
Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn)	158	2.25
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn)	101	1.44
Overvotes	89	1.27
Tom Steyer (withdrawn)	62	0.88
Amy Klobuchar (withdrawn)	31	0.44
Total	7,022	100%	51

References

1. Bernal, Rafael (May 21, 2020). "Puerto Rico Democrats set 2020 primary: 'We have no alternative but to comply with the law'". The Hill. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
2. Montellaro, Zach (March 21, 2020). "Puerto Rico postpones presidential primary". Politico. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
3. Morin, Rebecca (March 16, 2020). "List of states delaying their presidential primaries grows as Maryland pushes to June". USA Today. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
4. Bernal, Rafael (April 2, 2020). "Puerto Rico delays its primary a second time". The Hill. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
5. Putnam, Josh. "The 2020 Presidential Primary Calendar". Frontloading HQ. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
6. Suzanne, Gamboa (August 2, 2019). "Puerto Rico moves up 2020 Democratic primary to March". NBC News. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
7. "Puerto Rico Democratic Delegation 2020". The Green Papers. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
8. "Presidente: Resultados Isla" [President: Island Results] (in Spanish). Comisión Estatal de Elecciones. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
9. "2020 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions: Puerto Rico Democrat". The Green Papers. Retrieved 12 July 2020.

Notes

1. Party Leaders and Elected Officials

External links

• The Green Papers Democratic Party delegate allocation summary
• Puerto Rico Democratic Party delegate selection plan