Puerto Rico Votes for Statehood
A slim majority of Puerto Ricans sought to change their ties with the United States and become the 51st U.S. state in a non-binding referendum that would require final approval from Congress.
The two-part referendum asked whether the island wanted to change its 114-year relationship with the United States. Nearly 54 percent, or 922,374 people, sought to change it, while 46 percent, or 786,749 people, favored the status quo. Ninety-six percent of 1,643 precincts were reporting as of early Wednesday.
The second question asked voters to choose from three options, with statehood by far the favorite, garnering 61 percent. Sovereign free association, which would have allowed for more autonomy, received 33 percent, while independence got 5 percent.
Source: Fox News. Read full article. (link)
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I am surprised this is not getting more attention.
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It keeps getting misreported. As the article notes, there were three options on the ballot: Statehood, Independence, and Sovereign Free Association. The latter has more autonomy than the current status quo.
There was no "current status quo" option. As a result, there were about 450,000 blank ballots on the second question that voted on the first question.
First question 1,730,245 votes
Second question 1,311,727, 468,000 blank ballots.
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Um, if you voted to not change the relationship regarding question one, why would you choose an option in question two?