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A referendum on November 3rd ballot could potentially make Puerto Rico  the 51st state of United States of America, pending approval from Congress. Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917, but do not have a vote in the U.S. Congress nor can Perto Ricans vote for U.S. President or Vice President because Puerto Rico is considered an unincorporated U.S. territory rather than a state of USA. A referendum of the status of Puerto Rico is set to be held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with the gubernatorial election. It was announced by Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced on May 16, 2020. This will be the sixth referendum held on the status of Puerto Rico, with the latest having taken place in 2017. This will be the first referendum with a simple yes-or-no question, with voters having the option of voting for or against becoming a U.S. state. The governing New Progressive Party supports statehood, while the opposition Popular Democratic Party is against it, in the video “2020 Puerto Rican Status Referendum“, below: Pedro Pierluisi, a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, was leading by more than 12,000 votes with more than 95% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reported. Bloomberg NewsPuerto Rico teed up a post-bankruptcy campaign for statehood on Tuesday as a result of unofficial voter approval of a nonbinding statehood referendum along with the apparent victory of pro-statehood gubernatorial candidate Pedro Pierluisi. Pierluisi, a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, was leading by more than 12,000 votes with more than 95% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reported. Pierluisi led his next closest challenger Carlos Delgado of the Popular Democratic Party that supports Puerto Rico’s current status. The two are among five candidates in the race to lead the U. S. territory as the successor to interim Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced who lost an August primary. Pierluisi had 380,704 votes, or 32.4% of the ballots counted to Delgado’s 368,369 votes, or 31.4%, according to the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections. Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico’s current non voting representative in the U. S. House and Pierluisi’s running partner, easily won a second term. The referendum on U. S. statehood was leading with more than 52% support, with more than 95% of votes counted, the Associated Press reported. Any chance for statehood, however, is dependent on a Democratic sweep of both chambers of Congress and the White House. President Trump and the Republican-controlled Senate expressed opposition earlier this year to statehood legislation for the District of Columbia that passed the Democratic-controlled House on June 26 by a vote of 232-180. The Trump Administration published a Statement of Administration Policy, indicating its opposition to District statehood on June 24, two days prior to the House vote. In contrast, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have gone on record as supporting statehood for Puerto Rico. A Democratic administration and Congress could move legislation approving statehood for both Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. There’s no constitutional requirement for a referendum on the issue. But a majority of American voters recently indicated support for statehood for Puerto Rico and D. C. In fact, 97.2% of Puerto Rico voters who participated in a June 2017 plebiscite preferred statehood compared to 1.5% who chose free association/independence and 1.3% who chose the current territorial status. But that 2017 referendum was considered flawed because many opponents of statehood stayed away from the polls and turnout was only 23% (approximately 518,000 of 2.3 million voters). This week’s referendum was paired with a hotly contested gubernatorial election. Public opinion on the U. S. mainland also supports statehood, in the video “Pro-statehood gubernatorial candidate leading in Puerto Rico“, below: On January 4, 2017, Puerto Rico’s new representative to Congress pushed a bill that would ratify statehood by 2025. On June 11, 2017, another non-binding referendum was held where 97.7 percent voted for the statehood option In the video “Puerto Ricans to vote on statehood“, below: Thousands of Puerto Ricans flocked to polls across the island as the island’s statehood referendum began on Tuesday, as seen in footage from Escuela Superior Medardo Carazo in Trujillo Alto, San Juan, in the video “Puerto Rico: Voters weigh in on island’s future in statehood“, below: Since March of 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a bill that would make Puerto Rico the 51st U.S. state. President Trump has said he opposes granting the territory statehood, in the video “Lawmakers announce bill to grant Puerto Rico statehood“, below: In the last four years, Puerto Rico’s billion dollar debt crisis, devastation caused by hurricanes, earthquakes, and the mass exodus of half a million to the mainland, have all thrown the territory’s relationship to the U.S. in the national spotlight. This November, Puerto Ricans will vote in the statehood referendum of 2020, which asks a question that has been at the heart of Puerto Rican politics for decades: Should the territory be admitted to the union as a state? Ivette Feliciano reports, in the video “Puerto Rico gears up to vote in statehood referendum this Nov“, below: To better understand Puerto Rico’s position, please refer to the excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, below: Puerto Rico has been discussed as a potential 51st state of the United States. However, since 1898, five other territories were annexed in the time Puerto Rico has been a colonial possession. In 2019, H.R.1965 – Puerto Rico Admission Act, 5% of the lower legislature were in support. The bill was passed on to the House Committee on Natural Resources.^[29] In a 2012 status referendum a majority of voters, 54%, expressed dissatisfaction with the current political relationship. In a separate question, 61% of voters supported statehood (excluding the 26% of voters who left this question blank). On December 11, 2012, Puerto Rico’s legislature resolved to request that the President and the U.S. Congress act on the results, end the current form of territorial status and begin the process of admitting Puerto Rico to the Union as a state.^[30] On January 4, 2017, Puerto Rico’s new representative to Congress pushed a bill that would ratify statehood by 2025.^[31] On June 11, 2017, another non-binding referendum was held^[32] where 97.7 percent voted for the statehood option.^[33] The turnout for this vote was 23 percent, a historical low as voter turnout in Puerto Rico usually hovers around 80%.^[33] The low turnout was attributed to a boycott led by the pro-status quo PPD party.^[34] On June 27, 2018, the Puerto Rico Admission Act of 2018 H.R. 6246 was introduced in the U.S. House with the purpose of responding to, and complying with, the democratic will of the United States citizens residing in Puerto Rico as expressed in the plebiscites held on November 6, 2012, and June 11, 2017, by setting forth the terms for the admission of the territory of Puerto Rico as a State of the Union.^[35] The admission act has 37 original cosponsors between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.^[36] On May 16, 2020, Puerto Rican Governor Wanda Vázquez announced that Puerto Rico will hold a nonbinding referendum on November 3, 2020 to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a state. For the first time in the island’s history, the referendum will ask a single, simple question: Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted as a U.S. state? Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at info.WindermereSun@gmail.com

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