As the world anxiously observed the US elections, Puerto Rico, a US territory, also held its general election on Tuesday, November 8. And in a place that prides itself for historically having very high voting participation, turnout in these elections reached a new low. The illustration reads: “Don't forget to vote,” but uses a play on words. Normally, “to vote” would be written with a “v,” but in this case the artist decided to write it using a “b,” which changes the meaning to “to throw out [the garbage].” The red and blue represent the colors of the two largest political parties in Puerto Rico, red for the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) and blue for the New Progressive Party (NPP). Image by Kike Estrada and taken from planetakike.com. Used with permission. While the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP in Spanish) is celebrating that its candidate, Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, was elected governor and that they achieved a majority in the Legislature, the fact remains that voter participation for these elections reached only 55.09%, according to the official numbers of the State Electoral Commission (Comisión Estatal de Elecciones, or CEE, in Spanish). This number is extremely low, considering that Puerto Rico traditionally has had a turnout of well over 75%. This year's numbers represent a huge drop from 78.19% in the 2012 election. Another point of interest is the fact that Ricardo Rosselló won the election with only 655,626 votes, or 41.76%. This is the number that is usually used when discussing by how much a candidate won an election. Bear in mind that Puerto Rico has a population of roughly 3.5 million, of which approximately 2.9 million were registered to vote. This means that the governor was elected only by a little over 22% of registered voters, or roughly 19% of the population. This is the first time that a candidate for governor has been elected to office with such low numbers. One of the main theories for the widespread abstention is that these are the first elections held under the fiscal control board imposed by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA. Composed of seven unelected members, the fiscal control board was created by the US Congress with bipartisan support and imbued with powers that override Puerto Rico's already limited constitution. With the aim of tackling the archipelago's $72 billion debt, the board answers only to Congress, not the Puerto Rican people. This has prompted many to question whether even having elections was worth the trouble, since the board has control over the government's budget, revenues and operations. It is worth pointing out that some of the voters who abstained from participating in this election may have done so out of the conviction that to vote in Puerto Rico means to validate colonial rule. Historically, this has been a position long held by some supporters of Puerto Rican independence. The two political parties hardest hit by voter abstention were the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP in Spanish) and the Working People's Party (PPT in Spanish). Because the electoral law in Puerto Rico is rather archaic, both parties now have to start yet again the long and uphill process of gathering signatures in order to be considered an official political party with representation and participation at the electoral commission due to their low amount of votes each got in this election — 2.13% and 0.34%, respectively. University of Puerto Rico professor of political sciences Ángel Israel Rivera, writing for the digital magazine 80 grados, called for a reform of the electoral system in Puerto Rico: Bien mirado el problema, las elecciones de 2016 podrían ser un buen momento para iniciar un movimiento masivo de indignados a favor de un CAMBIO en el tipo de sistema electoral que existe en Puerto Rico. Un sistema que es tan injusto y tan limitado que produce bipartidismo o partido único hegemónico y nada más. ¿Por qué? Pues porque la forma de elegir legisladores está prediseñada para excluir de nuestra Asamblea Legislativa a los pequeños partidos y a los candidatos independientes. Un sistema que es tan antidemocrático que en un distrito puede ganar la representación total un partido que sea el más votado con 40%, a pesar de que los demás partidos obtengan, entre todos, un 60%. Es decir, a pesar de que el partido “ganador” sea realmente minoritario. Un sistema que le hace muy difícil a los partidos de minoría, si entraran a la Asamblea Legislativa, promover y afectar la legislación porque el partido mayoritario (sea el PPD o PNP) se cree con el derecho siempre, o casi siempre, a gobernar y legislar mediante caucus partidista.