P.R. Laws tit. 21, § 4153
The members of the municipal legislatures shall be elected by the direct vote of the electors of the corresponding municipality in every general election for a term of four (4) years as of the second Monday of the month of January of the year following the general elections in which they are elected and shall exercise their functions of their offices until the second Monday of the month of January following the general elections.
In the case of a municipal legislator who, having been elected cannot be sworn in, and thus cannot take office on the second Monday of the month of January following the general elections, said office or seat shall remain vacant until the new municipal legislator can be sworn in.
Political parties shall only nominate thirteen (13), eleven (11), and nine (9) candidates to municipal legislatures composed of sixteen (16), fourteen (14), and twelve (12) members, respectively; Provided, That the Capital City of San Juan may nominate fourteen (14) and Culebra, four (4).
The Commonwealth Election Commission shall declare elected, from among all the candidates, those thirteen (13), eleven (11), nine (9), fourteen (14) and four (4) candidates who have obtained the largest number of direct votes. In the event of a tie to determine the last position among those who shall be elected by direct vote, the order of appearance on the ballot, from top to bottom, shall be used to determine who shall be elected. The three (3) remaining members of each one of the municipal legislatures, except Culebra, which shall only have one (1) additional member, shall be elected from among the candidates of the two (2) main opposing parties to which the majority of legislature members elected by direct vote belong, as follows:
(a) The Commonwealth Election Commission shall declare as elected, from among the candidates that have not been elected by direct vote, those two (2) who have obtained the largest number of votes from the party that was second in the number of votes cast for legislature members, and one (1) from the party that was third. In the case of Culebra, the additional legislature member that shall be declared elected, shall be from the party that was second in the number of votes cast for legislature members.
(b) In the case of the second party, if there were more than two (2) candidates with the same number of votes, the candidates shall be elected, in the order they appear on the ballot, in the column of the party, from top to bottom. The same shall apply to elect the minority candidate of the third party.
(c) If there were only two (2) parties on the electoral ballot, the three (3) remaining members shall be elected from among the candidates who have obtained the largest number of votes and who have not been elected by direct vote in the party that was second in the number of votes cast for legislature member.
The Commonwealth Commission shall adopt the necessary measures to regulate the provisions contained in this section.
If for any reason any of the remaining members of each of the municipal legislatures referred to in this section does not qualify to be declared as elected by the Commonwealth Commission, another person shall be designated in his/her place, as proposed by the party that elected the legislature member who did not qualify for the office.
The Secretary of State of Puerto Rico shall review the total number of members composing the municipal legislatures, after each ten (10)-year census, starting in 1990. The determination of the Secretary of State shall rule for the general election held after each review, and shall be made public by the Commonwealth Election Commission, which shall be notified by the Secretary for general knowledge.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 4.003; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 12; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 10; Oct. 27, 1995, No. 217, § 1; Dec. 16, 2005, No. 155, § 1.