Puerto Rico residents pass referendum to become an official state

On June 11, 2017, a referendum was held to determine how many Puerto Rican’s supported their island becoming the 51^st state. This was the fifth vote of its kind since 1967. Previously, Puerto Rican referendums had offered voters the option of full independence, remaining as a commonwealth, or gaining statehood. The initial 2017 ballot, however, initially only offered two choices: independence and statehood.  All major anti-statehood groups boycotted the vote, taking particular umbrage with the ballot referring to Puerto Rico as a “colony.” Further critics point out that the referendums hold little political power in the United States. While an overwhelming 97% of votes cast supported statehood, this number was marred by a low 23% voter turnout [Newkirk, 2017; Robles, 2017]. Although the victors of the referendum claimed that the favorable outcome would force the US Congress to put the issue to a vote, others were unsure that the outcome would have any effect. Indeed, some, such as former Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, point out that the large margin of victory is indicative of a single party regime that will not be accepted by America [Robles, 2017]. While there was not any immediate change in status because of the referendum, as critics predicted, in March of 2021, Representative Darren Soto (D-FL) introduced H.R.1522 - Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act to the US House of Representatives, the outcome of which is currently pending.