The most significant result of the 2012 election may not be the re-election of President Obama, nor any of the other highly publicized races decided on November 6, 2012. If pursued to conclusion, the vote of the residents of Puerto Rico to pursue statehood will likely have the largest impact on the United States.
A two-part ballot question first asked voters if they favor the current status of Puerto Rico as a territory of the United States. Second, voters were asked what type of status they preferred: full statehood, independence, or “sovereign free association”, a semi-autonomous status. In the second portion, statehood was the preference of 61% of voters. Independence was the least favored choice, garnering 5% of the vote with 33% going to the semi-autonomous option. To be admitted to union, the application would have to be passed by a majority of each house of Congress.
There is some speculation about whether the ballot wording and structure were confusing to voters. This is the first time in four tries that a majority of Puerto Ricans have voted for statehood and polling prior to election day did not project a high level of support for the proposal. Additionally, the race for governor was won by an anti-statehood candidate who may not push for statehood to be pursued. There have also been charges that the ballot was confusing and the results are being challenged.
If it is indeed the will of the people of Puerto Rico to become the 51st state in the union I whole-heartedly welcome and support this and hope that our members of Congress will approve the application. It is worth noting that during the presidential election both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama stated they would approve an application for statehood if Puerto Rico clearly voted for it.
There may be concerns about admitting Puerto Rico the union and what it would mean for the nation. It is not a small step. Puerto Rico has approx. 3.7 million people, more than the combined populations of Wyoming, Washington, DC, Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska, and half of South Dakota. The votes of the electoral college would be changed by the admission of Puerto Rico in a meaningful way, especially if future presidential elections are as close as the 2012 race was.
Other concerns may include making so many people citizens of the United States. Everyone in Puerto Rico already is a citizen so there would not be a change in that regard. They have the same travel rights and can serve in the military as any other person in our country. The biggest change would be that 3.7 million people that currently have no national political voice would be able to fully represent themselves. (Puerto Rico has a non-voting member of the House of Representatives, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, currently.) Citizenship would not be given to anyone, full citizenship would be extended to nearly 4 million people that currently have a second-class level of political rights.
Economically, the GDP of Puerto Rico in 2012 is estimated at $68.8 billion, which would make it the 40th highest state GDP in the country, just behind Hawaii’s $68.9 billion. On a per capita GDP basis, however, the state-elect would rank last among the states, with approx. $19,000 per capita GDP. This is well below the $32,000 of Mississippi, the current last place state.
Any further action in regards to Puerto Rico statehood is now in the hands of Congress. A bill would need to be drafted and then passed in both houses before being signed by the President. I am currently waiting to hear back from Congressman Pierluisi regarding his role in drafting such a bill.
Hopefully with the election so recently closed, the supposedly earnest remarks about reaching across the aisle and compromise that so many of the recently elected have been making will be taken seriously. There is no reason to relegate millions of American citizens that have voted for a full political voice (and consequently subjecting themselves to federal taxes they do not currently pay) to second class citizenship. We have spent far too many lives over the years to further the spread of democracy to fail to embrace a request from a long-time dependent territory that is voluntarily asking for it.
Please contact your Representative and Senator in Washington to express your support for Puerto Rico statehood. Citizens have a role to play throughout the year in the legislative process – dropping a ballot in a box is only the first step.
John P. Anderson
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Have you ever looked at a map of the Caribbean? The relatively small island of Puerto Rico is so far away from the mainland US that it’s kind of absurd to think that this place ought to be a state. Of course, the precedent is Hawaii. But, then again, if this election truly does represent the “will” of the Puerto Rican people – not withstanding any critique of the election itself (was it fair, rigged, what kind of $$ went into which side and from where?) – the progressives in this country – who have long supported independence for the island may need to rethink our policy toward Puerto Rico.
Distance-wise, Puerto Rico is about 1,150 miles from Miami compared to about 2,500 from SoCal to Hawaii and 1,400 from Seattle to Anchorage (although the lower islands of Alaska are closer to the mainland). Puerto Rico is a decent distance but as you noted, so is Hawaii. Also worth remembering that California to New York is nearly three times the distance from Florida to Puerto Rico and we don’t see to have a problem with distances among the existing states.
Culturally we have very long ties with Puerto Rico and since 2008 there have been more people of primarily Puerto Rican descent in the U.S. than in Puerto Rico (estimated at 4.2 million in the U.S. as of 2008).
Regarding independence, I think it’s very telling that given the 3 options (state, semi-autonomous, and independence) independence was far and away the least favored option, 6% of the vote.
First, independence movements in PR had been oppressed either by the US and local governments since in 1898 that th US invaded the island. Check your data before arguing anything.
OPCIONES NO TERRITORIALES
RESULTADOS ISLA
ESTADIDAD
ESTADIDAD ESTADIDAD 809,652 61.13%
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO SOBERANO
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO SOBERANO ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO SOBERANO 441,505 33.33%
INDEPENDENCIA
INDEPENDENCIA INDEPENDENCIA 73,362 5.54%
TOTAL: 1,324,519
*OTROS
EN BLANCO 472,674——————————left unmarked
PROTESTADAS Y NO ADJUDICADAS 17,764
PARTICIPACIÓN
INSCRITOS UNIDADES REPORTADAS 2,363,099
VOTANTES SEGÚN LISTA 1,843,552
PARTICIPACIÓN 78.01%
TOTAL DE INSCRITOS 2,402,941
ELECTORES VOTO POR TELÉFONO 6
SOBRES ESPECIALES DE PAPELETAS RECUSADAS 240
TOTAL DE SOBRES DE ELECTORES QUE VOTARON AÑADIDOS A MANO 5,493
UNIDADES REPORTADAS: 1615 DE 1643 PARA UN 98.3%
If you sum the tow other options plus the tickets left blank or unmarked you’ll rich a percentage way higher than the statehood.
Sorry I didn’t translate all the text but numbers are universal.
Those blanks Ballot are not valid according to an order from the local supreme court in 2009 in the case:
“Suarez vs Comisión Estatal de Elecciones”.
Decision:
” En las contiendas plebiscitarias, es particularmente nocivo y contrario al mandato constitucional de neutralidad, inyectar elemento totalmente subjetivo y especulativo en la adjudicación de los votos. En un futuro plebiscito cabe la posibilidad razonable de que una formula de cambio de status político obtenga una proporción del 50% mas uno del total de votos. La adjudicación de las papeletas en blanco y por personajes ficticios amplia de manera artificial el universo electoral y reduce la proporción de votos validos emitidos por las formulas en contienda. Ello obstaculiza e impide que se verifique en el escrutinio el mandato mayoritario por un cambio de status. Mientras tanto, la inercia concedería ventaja solamente a la condición existente, que prevalecería vigente al frustrase por un escrutinio engañoso la voluntad mayoritaria de cambio.”
Most of those blancs are those who answered “yes” to maintiain “present territorial relationship” THAT’S OBVIOUSLY COMMONWEALTH. They don’t need to pick a NON TERRITORIAL STATUS. To do so is contradictory to the first question.
Frank you are wrong….we the people of PR choose THE STATEHOOD because we are US born citizens and we do not have in the Island the right to Vote for our president like you people in the big country have. Maybe you do not understand or you do not want to. The colonial status is indignant for the majority of the Puertorican people. Shame of the ones who talk with out any facts.
John- I’m glad you wrote about this. Mainlanders, particularly in the west, have a very fuzzy understanding of Puerto Rico’s relationship to the U.S. I hope some of our Puerto Rican neighbors in San Diego weigh in on this topic.
Thanks Anna and I totally agree about hearing from Puerto Ricans on this topic. I reached out to a friend from Puerto Rico to get her thoughts as well.
I am from PR and thanks John Anderson for your support. We need more people like you!!! THANKS……
Louis – thank you for the kind words and I’m happy to help. I will continue following and writing on this topic and will be cheering on the people of Puerto Rico. Bueno suerte!
Buena* suerte!
Puerto Rico is currently an “unincorporated Territory of the US” “it belongs to, yet “not part of the US” for equal rights citizen purposes. This stems from the Balzac Insular cases in the 1920’s..
Prior to this,(and after PR!!!) the granting of US citizenship automatically incorporated the territories towards statehood. Puerto Rico was a targeted exemption.
The historic ties between Spain and the US vanished after the Spanish American war.( Spain fought the brittish along the Gulf of Mexico, Helped the revolutionaries in major battles to defeat the Brittish. 3,000 Spaniard (Puerto Rican) soldiers Served under General Galvez at the service of George Washington. Washington was so appreciative ,he offered Puerto Rico the honor of becoming the 14th Colony!! Alas ,Spain refused,but the city of Galveston Texas was named in honor of Galvez. A plaque in Galveston commemorates The service of General Galvez to the birth of the USA.
By 1920’s however, America was in a prejudice free for all. Plessy Seperate/equal was the law.
*Asians were excluded as immigrants (yellow peril) Funny, I’ve yet so see a yellow asian. Skin looks Med white to me.
White (Nordic) America was in a panic over “inferior Mediterranean Whites from Spain, Southern Europe, as well as East Europeans.
Puerto Ricans, mainly swarthy/olive Mediterranean white Spaniards at the time, were deemed “suspicious ” in their racial backgrounds and although citizenship was granted only to whites at the time, Puerto Ricans, being ex Spaniard settelers, were seen as white enough.
Apparently that changed when the US Supreme court ruled and came up with a new limbo status for PR….unincorporated territory. Remember, prior to this decision, incorporation of territory was instant and co existant with citizenship. The Balzac Ruling changed that. Leading the way to the longest colony in Americanhistory. Second only to Oklahoma’s 104 year territorial history.
In 1959 the (self described) “popular” democrat party convinced congress to allow local goverment in PR. This PUBLIC LAW 600, allowed for a local Puerto Rican Constitution modeled after a state constitucion, A Governor, local “state” legislature composed of a House and Senate. A completely republican form of government. ONE MAJOR FLAW,…..It wasn’t statehood,or a true sovereign Commonwealth. IT DID NOT CHANGE PUERTO RICO AS AN UNINCORPORATED TERRITORY UNDER THE TERRITORIAL CLAUSE OF THE CONSTITUTION. Puerto Rico remains at the mercy of Congress, and untill it becomes either a state or nation, any law passed by one congress can be repealed by a future congress.
When the “popular” Democrat Party translated the title as Free Associated state of PR, Congress rejected the wording and changed it to Commonwealth. PR was NOT a state, NOT Free as a territory, and not associated,but rather, belonging to the USA.
The PPD. Party kept the wording in spanish to deceive millions untill recently into thinking they weren’t a colony. Cats out of the bag!!!
There’ll be no love from the GOP for this idea, obviously. So it would become a wedge issue serving to irritate the great divide between the parties. Do we need another one of those?
Bob, I would anticipate the GOP (and the GOP controlled House) not appreciating the potential electoral / demographic impact that PR as a state might have. However, based on the history of the governor office in PR it doesn’t appear to be a staunchly Democratic-leaning territory. Since 1949 PR has had 11 governors (including the governor-elect); 7 were from the Popular Democratic Party (Democrat-affiliated) and 4 from the New Progressive Party (Republican-affiliated), including the out-going governor.
I agree it could become a wedge issue but hope that perhaps Republicans would see this as a step towards embracing the Latino (and other minority group) population, especially given the outcome of the election and trends for the future. Of course, political motivations I would hope to be secondary or tertiary but doubt that democratic rights would trump.
Yet remember that it was Republicans in the house majority. (Sponsor Newt Gingrich) and congressmen & women like Don Young, and Murkowski of Alaska who passed the “Young bill” in 1998. Of course Trent Lott, a hater of Hispanics, refused to let the measure be introduced in the Senate ( he was sure that it may pass & president Clinton would have a Statehood legacy,thus locking the hispanic vote for democrats) Again, in 2010 enough republicans joined Democrats to Pass the PR law, this time a majority democrat senate ignored it. (Yes, those dems are such champions for equal rights). Puerto Rico has passes the House milestone. The next challenge is the senate.
I voted on that election last Tuesday. I feel very proud f my US citizenship and voted for Statehood. I am convinced we deserve to have full rights as US Citizens. Thanks so much John for your article.
Soraya – thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts. I hope that Congress will act on the wishes of the people of Puerto Rico.
My name is Jannette Cruz Seda i am a resident of Puerto Rico and a citizen of the United States of America.As knowledge entirely in PR was held a few days ago a question of status with a decisive outcome in which it was shown that Puerto Ricans do not want to continue under the current status of colonialism and want to be part of the American nation becoming the 51st state.
We trust of Obama commitment to listen and endorse the decision of our people,this is why we request your inmediate intervention as the recent governor-elected Alejandro Garcia Padilla have expressed publicly that it will not comply these results merely by a whim of a political because its position un term of status was not supported by the voters.This is blow to democracy unworthy of the USA and PR promote.I and thousands of Puerto Ricans who expressed this view deserve respect and on behalf of each demand that this decision is respected and our demands are heard.I trust in the President words and understand that their commitment has been clear and for the equality of minorities,it was time to take the big step the American citizens of puerto Rico want equality.
Jannette – thanks very much for your thoughts and sharing them. I’ve seen some of the comments by Governor-elect Padilla and it concerns me as well. The ballots have been cast and counted and on the measures the majority of Puerto Ricans voted for a change to the current status, and for statehood.
Have there been demonstrations for or against the results of the vote? I’ve seen some photos and descriptions but nothing from Puero Ricans in the country offering a first-hand account.
Thanks again for writing and I will be thinking of you and your fellow Puerto Ricans.
It has been only three days since this historic election and we as citizens of the USA demand from the congress no matter what the elect government thinks towards this us gov approved referendum, a fully support on this fully democratic result. I voted for statehood because we deserve a first class citizenship and i am tire for this colonial party who wants the status quo for all of us and finally, for my kids who deserve a better future.
Answering your question, no demonstrations yet only bloggers and political analyst like Luis Davila Colon (Facebook blog: El Azote) who are in shock on governor elect AGP, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, remarks on this referendum not backing it. This will be an interesting topic for all Puerto Ricans because he as governor of all Puerto Ricans was elected on the same day and terms where the statehood won on a 61% of all votes. If he continues to prevent this from happening in my opinion he will be remember as the fool governor that put his colonial party over the people will.
Pedro – thanks for your thoughts and passion for this topic. Also, thanks for the insights on what’s going on in Puerto Rico right now – glad to hear that it’s being talked about, but sounds like not really on major television or print media? Blogging and social media may have to carry the day for this to get enough support, especially if the territorial government is going to actively fight against the vote results.
Link from ElNuevoDia
The main newspaper here has an anti-statehood editorial. On the contrary, El Vocero a smaller newspaper, favors statehood. El Nuevo Dia is owned by the richest family in PR the Ferre Rangel Family and has a lot of power and influence over a lot of things in PR including banks (BPOP) and other businesses (MCS and others). Try to translate that article and see for yourself. That is why, you don’t see much of comments in the main newspaper or the TV media because of the same reason.
Thanks for the link – the translation worked pretty well (and I need to work on my Spanish anyway). The article notes that The Hill wrote an article on the subject refuting the results but the only article on The Hill didn’t state a position on any strong terms.
So most of the wealthy on the island are in favor of maintain territorial status? Would you say that’s accurate or it’s more split at all levels of society?
Apologies – I was incorrect about the The Hill article. It’s here if anyone is interested in reading it: link
No, most of the wealthy are not in favour of the current status. The second question is already answer in the referendum.
If statehood didn’t win according to gov elect alejandro Garcia Padilla, the he with his pathetic 47% vote margin should agree to a redo with Fortuño, since simple math says 53% voted OTHER!
I guess Gov elect considers Hawaii statehood illegal? Let’s see….
population in 1959……..600,000
eligible voters 150,000
Those who voted …….145,000 (98% of these voted statehood)
According to PPD party rhetoric, 450,000 residents outnumber the 145,000, so statehood ” lost”.
Soraya and Jannette- thanks for taking the time to comment here. When I was in Puerto Rico off and on from 2002-5, there was a very vocal support for independence. Now not so much.
I feel very proud for my US citizenship and last Tuesday voted for the Puerto Rico Statehood 51. I hope the Congress will act on the wishes of the mayority of Puertorrican’s peoples.
Sonia – glad that you voted and I hope so as well.
I was born and raised in NY. Live in Puerto Rico and Voted for Statehood 51 for Puerto Rico. Hope Congress will act on the wishes of The Puertorrican’s. The newly elected governor Padilla has said publicly that he will not comply with the results on Nov. 6
Denise – I’ve seen comments from Governor-elect Padilla but haven’t seen anything from the general population or other leaders that are also disputing the results. Has there been a lot in the local papers or elsewhere about the opposition to the results of the vote?
Check Ricky Rosello web Site and Blog in FB “Boricua Ahora Es” and “El Azote” from renown local lawyer Luis Davila COlon. THere you will find the other side of the coin.
I’m an army brat who has traveled in the USA and Europe while my father was in active duty. I have lived in PR during these years and proud of my roots and was born on a military base. I love the mainland and believe we have a shot at having a dream come true. To be able to vote for a US President and to continue to grow as part of the this great country, is a privilege. We should have this opportunity and be the 51 state.
Irma – thanks for sharing and thanks for reading. I agree that all Americans (and citizens of any nation) should have a full democratic voice and hope that right is soon coming to those residing in Puerto Rico.
People should read a little bit about the history of PR before dismissing us. We are citizens of the US,with no right to vote for our President and no real representation in Congress. We didnt ask to be part of PR initially.But since we are all we want is to be equal to the citizens that live in the mainland. I bet you dont know that if we move to the US we are able to vote in Presidential elections, but if we live in PR we cant. That makes no sense, especially since our men die in the military just the same as US soldiers. Just something to think about. I sure hope distance to the mainland is not the main concern to deny us our rights.
Jose – great thoughts and thank you so much for sharing. Especially regarding voting rights I definitely didn’t know that until I started doing some reading for writing this article. I think it’s safe to say that most Americans are unaware of this, as well as the fact that Puerto Ricans are as much American as Texans or North Dakotans.
I hope that equal rights are on the way and will continue writing and demanding that our members of Congress stand up for those without the ability to do so.
I also voted for statehood in this referendum. This referendum was the result of years of work with Presidents Bush Sr and Jr and with President Obama. These Presidents had task forces study and recommend the possible alternatives for Puerto Rico and the referendum is basically one of the ways they recommended for deciding how we would choose a permanent status solution. The questions were simple and to the point. We had to decide if we wanted to keep our current territorial status or not. We decided we don’t want to be treated as second class citizens any more. A status were you have to move to a different state to have all your rights recognized as American citizens is undignified and contrary to our beliefs that “all men are created equal”. We got a historical majority vote against remaining in such a status. The second question is the logical “then what do you want” that would follow. We got a 61% majority for statehood over the other two options sanctioned by the presidential task forces and recognized by the United Nations. The vote was clear. Those who still want to remain a territorial Commonwealth have come up with a myriad of excuses and the governor elect (who won by less than 1%) is among them. Ridiculous excuses like if you add those who didn’t cast a vote to the other options, then statehood isn’t a majority. Well if that’s true, then if you add those who didn’t cast a vote in the presidential election to those who voted republican, then Obama is an illegitimate President.
Jorge – excellent thoughts and thank you for the first-hand description of the clarity of the ballot since that is the main issue being brought up by Governor-elect Padilla. I have confidence that given the importance of this vote Puerto Ricans were aware of it beforehand and well-educated on the topic.
I haven’t yet been to Puerto Rico in person but hope to do so soon. Despite that, I find the silence on this topic in the mainland media incredible. I have yet to see a single television segment, newspaper article, or other publication on the topic. (I came across the results through Twitter and then was able to find some articles published but none that I had seen without specifically seeking them out.)
link from vocero.com
Check for yourself…
link from Caribbean Business
Check for yourself…
I agree that the ballot wording and structure were confusing to voters. Especially for first time voters. I, myself had to read the ballot three times. This is “no joke” for us who actually live in Puerto Rico. It should definitely be looked into so that everyone can have the peace of mind and continue to trust in our government.
Carmen – thanks for your thoughts. Had you seen much in the news about the ballot wording or this measure? I have read that the Popular Democratic Party was advocating for leaving this item blank on the ballots as a form of protest prior to election day. Did you hear anything of that nature?
The ballot was clear as day. The problem that some people were confused was probably due to the campaign were the Popular Democratic Party did not asume a firm position for any option. Some of their leaders advocated voting YES and drawing a line through all the non territorial options as a protest. Very few people did that. Others in that party advocated voting NO and Free Association, and still others advocated voting YES and Free Association. What they all said in common was that LEAVING THE BALLOT BLANK was NOT an option for protest because it would not be counted and could lend itself to be marked by someone else after the polls closed. So they specifically advocated not leaving anything blank to avoid fraud. The people new what they were doing and the results are what they are.
The governor-elected Alejandro Garcia-Padilla must respect the people’s election to be entitled to full representation in federal congress and presidency.Now we need to move the action to federal congress .
Laurentino – I completely agree. Elected officials are there to honor the will and wishes of the people.
Dear John:
Thanks for your article.
I am a proud puertorrican and proud american citizen.
As US citizens we want to contribute to our big nation and have equal rights and responsibilities as our fellow citizens from the 50 states. Until we don’t get rid of our colonial chains we will not be able to fully contribute to our nation as its natural bridge to the full potential that Latin America represents for the future of our great nation.
Thanks again and God bless America.
Roberto – thanks for commenting. I hope that you and other fellow Americans in Puerto Rico will soon have the same rights as those of us in California and other states.
hello from beautiful puerto rico i have been living in puerto rico for 10 years now born and raised in new york of parent born in pr i moved to puerto rico because i fell in love with the island and its culture i voted for statehood because i see the social economic situation in pr and there has not been much of a change i feel that with puerto rico becoming the 51 state we will be able to take a step forward puerto rico has been living in the past. its time for the future please congress take our votes and put them into motion its time for a new puerto rico. thank you concern citizen of puerto rico. mrs idali mendoza
Idali – thank you for your thoughts and participating in the vote. I hope that Congress will consider your vote (and the vote of all Puerto Ricans).
i appreciate the recent interest of many Unitedstatians in their colony’s politics.
i am sure your intentions are to inform and to make others think about this issue, but to do so, it would be helpful if you were more accurate with your facts.
the %s you speak about represent only the votes of the people who answered the 2nd part of the plebiscite, but to analyze this properly you should consider that the 1st question was “Are you content/satisfied with the current political status?”.
the options to answer this question were “yes” and “no”.
people who answered “yes” to the 1st question had no need to answer the 2nd, since the current political status IS a valid option amongst the many other political status possibilities.
the actual numbers of ALL the votes are detailed in this very interesting article which analyzes both the plebiscite and the current political status of PR:
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Opinion/puerto-rico-status-plebiscite/story?id=17674719#.UJ6cyIfAd2p
it is a 2 page article, and i highly recommend it to anyone interested in PRican politics and the possibility of change in its status.
cheers.
Julio – thanks for contributing and that article is excellent. Probably the most informative of the many I’ve read over the past week.
In regard to the questions on the ballot, I have seen many comments regarding the second question, leaving it blank, etc. Before the second question on the ballot, there are instructions stating:
“Regardless of your selection in the first question, please mark which of the following non-territorial options would you prefer.”
This seems to make it clear that both question 1 and question 2 should be completed. Perhaps I’m misunderstanding the instructions?
In 5 days we got 10,000 signatures: see link
Pedro – thanks for sharing this link to the change.org petition. I also came across one on whitehouse.gov that can be found at the below link. The current signature total is 8,238.
As a veteran of the US Army I can tell that 99% of my fellow comrades are pretty much looking for Statehood. We have served with honor and pride and get treated as second class citizens. We have shed more blood in combat than some of the States in the US Mainland. We get to vote on US Presidential Primaries, we have delegates to Democratic and GOP Conventions. Presidential candidates come to PR with open pockets to raise campaign funds, so why not make us a State. Some would think is because of the funds we would receive, but how about the more than 4 millions of PR’s in the Mainland that contribute to the economy. PR decided now it is time for leaders to act. Thank you.
Nellie – thank you for sharing your thoughts and for your military service. I was hoping to hear from service members and you are the first I have heard from. I hope that you had a good Veteran’s Day and thanks again to you and your comrades in the armed forces.
Alaska (61%), Florida (63%), Michigan (60%) y Washington (59%)…PUERTO RICO – 61%…STATEHOOD FOR PR NOW…
REPUBLICAN CONGRESS…NO MORE EXCUSES…PUERTO RICO ADMISSION ACT STATEHOOD NOW…
WE WANT ELECTING OUR CONGRESSMEN 2014…
WE WANT VOTING FOR US PRESIDENT 2016…
ADMISSION ACT FOR PUERTO RICO…2013 OR 2014…
GOP PLATFORM SUPPORTS STATEHOOD FOR PUERTO RICO…
REPUBLICAN CONGRESS…NO MORE EXCUSES…
6) Selective statehood. “We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state if they freely so determine.” So, good news for Puerto Rico.
STATEHOOD FOR PUERTO RICO NOW…
WE WANT ELECTING OUR CONGRESSMEN 2014…
WE WANT VOTING FOR US PRESIDENT 2016…
Samuel – thanks for contributing to the discussion. In regard to the other states you note, that’s interesting. I’ve been looking into the history of other states admitted to the union and had looked at Alaska and Hawaii but not the others you note.
Hola A todos; I’m Puerto Rican I voted for the Statehood I can’t believe that is the year 2012 and we are still a Colony. This Status is totally Indignant And we are sick Of it to be treated as a second class citizen, Many of my family members we had served to US military Services and died for This Nation and we can’t even vote for the President or have a Voice in the Senate/Congress!. We want equals rights like the rest of the States, we deserve it ad its time to be heard, We also have a dream Like Marthin Luther King preached and its to be respected and treated as equals. Puerto Rico es mi Patria, U.S.A mi nacion.
Ricardo – thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m hoping to experience the beauty of Puerto Rico firsthand in the near future and agree that tourism would seem to be a good source of growth for the future.
Will They Be Heard?
To act on the Puerto Rican referendum of November 6, 2012
To act on the Puerto Rican referendum of November 6, 2012
Hi John,
I’m working on a research paper on why Puerto Rican have finally voted for statehood this time around (Nov 2012) and came across your article. I found it very interesting and it was great reading the responses you got from so many Puerto Ricans in reference to the voting. I too am Puerto Rican but have lived here in the states for many years. I heard the bout the results back in November it surprised me because I never thought there would come a time when Puerto Rican would have a change of heart and finally want to become the 51st state. So my question is, why now? Why do Puerto Rican on the island now want to become a state? What has changed that makes them believe the time has come? Do you have any info on this? If you do, will you share? If not, maybe you can write another article and invite Puerto Rican to answer the question of, “why now”. I have my own theory but I’m more interesting in finding out what other Puerto Ricans think.
I hope I hear from you.
Regards, Mickie
Mickie – thanks for reading and for your comments. I am still reading and learning about the history of Puerto Rico and its political status, but my understanding so far is that the phrasing of the ballot questions has changed over the years. Looking at prior referendums on independence it appears that full independence has been around 5% – 10% for the past 20ish years. I need to look further back to research earlier votes. I plan to write at least one follow-up article on this topic, but don’t have a time frame for now.
Best of luck with your paper.