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The last such referendum, in 2017, went overwhelmingly for statehood -- but opponents boycotted the contest.
Puerto Ricans will vote this fall to seek statehood or independence
May 20 2020
Puerto Rico will vote on whether to seek statehood or independence in November, the latest ballot measure posing a fundamental question about the future of American democracy.
The outcome of the referendum will compel the island's government to negotiate with Washington the details of one of those options for ending a system in place for 70 years: Puerto Ricans are American citizens who are exempt from federal income taxes and have significant local autonomy, but in return they get much less federal aid than the states and have no electoral votes or voting members of Congress.
The referendum is ultimately non-binding because Congress and the president would have to agree to end Puerto Rico's current commonwealth arrangement. But the result will still send a signal about the desires of Americans now lacking full democratic rights – and could intensify or deflate momentum for statehood in Washington, D.C.
<p>Residents of the nation's capital, who have been pressing consistently and for decades to become the 51st state, hold out hope they might get their wish if Democrats control both Congress and the White House next year.</p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>But the people of Puerto Rico have sent inconsistent and ambivalent signals in five previous referendums in the past half century. Maintaining the status quo received the most votes in 1967, 1993 and 1998, after which statehood has come on strong — although the most recent plebiscite, three years ago, was boycotted by one of the three major political parties and so turnout was just 23 percent. Outright independence has never been supported by more than 6 percent.</p><p>The new measure will be the first offering residents only the options of statehood or independence, also dubbed "free association."</p><p>The island's political parties align mostly on the issue of political status, and Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced as well as a majority of the Legislature belong to the pro-statehood New Progressive Party.<br></p><p>"Our people will have the opportunity once and for all to define our future," the governor said in signing the referendum bill Saturday. "It's never too late to be treated as equals."</p><p>The vote will come at a time of intensifying disillusion among Puerto Ricans about their treatment by Washington. The island has struggled to obtain all the federal aid it says is needed to recover from hurricanes Irma and Maria, a string of strong earthquakes and the coronavirus pandemic. And its economy has been weakened in part by the end of federal tax incentives that had steered businesses to the commonwealth.</p><p>Congress has not moved legislation in response to any of the earlier referendums and there's no guarantee it would next year, either. President Trump's clearest statement on the matter, two years ago, was that "Puerto Rico shouldn't be talking about statehood until they get some people that really know what they're doing." His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, has not taken a firm stand on the island's future.</p><p>Puerto Rico's population of 3.2 million is closest to that of Iowa, suggesting statehood would mean four House members for the island as well as a pair of senators. Unlike D.C., which could be counted on to elect nothing but Democrats to Congress if it were a state, the partisan nature of a potential Puerto Rican delegation is unclear. </p><p>Other prominent democracy reform measures that have won spits on statewide ballots Nov. 3 include proposals to open Florida's primaries to all voters, have Colorado quit a promise to pledge its electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, roll back Missouri's two-year-old partisan <a data-linked-post="2636688309" href="https://thefulcrum.us/gerrymandering" target="_blank">gerrymandering</a> reforms and institute an independent redistricting commission in Virginia.</p>
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Spanish ballots mandated for much of Florida
May 13 2019
Voters in almost half of Florida must have access to Spanish-language ballots in time for the 2020 presidential primary next March, a federal judge has ruled.
District Judge Mark Walker on Friday ordered state election officials to offer election materials and assistance to the growing Spanish-speaking population in the nation's most populous politically competitive state. In a close contest at a critical juncture in the primary Democratic season, a bigger turnout by Latinos (who find their access to the ballot box has been made easier) could prove decisive in propelling one candidate toward the nomination.
<p>Civil rights groups sued the state last year for what they claim was inadequate voting assistance made available to Spanish-speaking citizens, including the estimated 56,000 Puerto Ricans who migrated to Florida after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The suit, brought by LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Demos, argued that federal law guarantees the right to register and vote for those with limited English, and Walker agreed.</p><p>The Voting Rights Act "prohibits English-only elections for those citizens — yes, <em>citizens </em>— educated in Puerto Rico in Spanish," Walker <a href="https://www.latinojustice.org/sites/default/files/PI%20Ordering%20Compliance%20with%20Voting%20Rights%20in%20Next%20Florida%20Election.pdf" target="_blank">wrote</a> in his ruling, italicizing the key word for emphasis. His order covers 32 of the state's 67 counties.</p><p><p style="text-align: center;" id="sufn"><a style="font-weight: bold;margin:40px auto;font-size:2rem" href="https://thefulcrum.us/st/newsletters">Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter </a></p></p><p>Puerto Ricans are born U.S. citizens and can register to vote in any state once they establish residency, but many reared on the island primarily speak Spanish.</p><p>Florida's Puerto Rican population had eclipsed 1 million by the middle of this decade, according to the Pew Research Center.</p><p>"For democratic participation to have any meaning, voters must be able to exercise their right to vote in a language they understand," Stuart Naifeh, senior counsel at Demos, said after the ruling. "In today's decision, the court recognized that Spanish-speaking voters are not second-class citizens."</p>
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