2020 Puerto Rican status referendum

Calls for autonomy have occurred since Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States in 1898. In 1917, statutory U.S. citizenship was extended to most Puerto Ricans, although the law could be repealed by a future United States Congress. Citizenship by birthright was established by the Nationality Act of 1940. In 1952, Puerto Rico adopted a new constitution which designated it as the "Commonwealth of Puerto Rico". Today, while Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and subject to federal laws, those in the unincorporated territory are unable to vote in Presidential elections and the unincorporated territory does not have a representative vote in Congress.[3]

The lack of statehood is sometimes regarded as exacerbating the impact of natural disasters and the territory's economic crisis.[4] This referendum follows a period of political upheaval in Puerto Rico, where an economic crisis and damage from a series of hurricanes contributed to protests that brought about the resignation of previous Governor Ricardo Rosselló in July 2019.[5]

A 2019 Gallup poll found 83% of Democrats in the US, but only 35% of Republicans, supported Puerto Rican statehood. A 2020 survey by International Policy Digest found that "The majority of Democrats showed support for statehood for both D.C. (61.8%) and Puerto Rico (69.7%)" while among Republicans, only 26.7% supported D.C. statehood and 34.8% supported Puerto Rican statehood.[6][7]

On May 16, 2020, Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced announced that a referendum on statehood would take place in November 2020 alongside the gubernatorial election and other elections taking place on that day.[4] In response to the announcement, PDP member Roberto Prats stated that unilateral referendums are pointless, and status referendums should take place in cooperation with the U.S. Congress.[4] Former PPD governor Anibal Acevedo Vila called it a "sham".[10] Analysts have suggested the referendum was called to drive turnout for Vázquez and her PNP party in the election, shifting attention away from the difficulties Puerto Rico had faced in the recent past.[8][11][12]

Under a 2014 law, the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections (CEE) receives $2.5 million from the federal government for any referendum approved by the Justice Department on the topic of the territory's status.[13] It is thought that the overall cost of the upcoming referendum will be $3.5 million.[14] However, on July 29, 2020, the US Justice Department informed Puerto Rico's CEE that it would not be approving the referendum, meaning all funding will need to be handled by the Puerto Rican government.[15] One reason given for the rejection was there being no option to vote for continuing to be a territory.[16]

On August 16 Vázquez lost her party's primary to Pedro Pierluisi, who thus became the PNP candidate for Governor. Pierluisi declared that achieving statehood would be his top priority if he was elected.[17]

The referendum asked one yes-or-no question:[13]

"¿Debe Puerto Rico ser admitido inmediatamente dentro de la Unión como un Estado?" Sí No
"Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State?" Yes No

This wording imitates the wording used in the successful statehood referendums of Alaska and Hawaii.[13] It will be Puerto Rico's first status referendum to ask one simple question; previous referendums posed multiple questions or provided more than two possible answers to questions.[4]

A White House official responded to the announcement of the referendum, stating "The first priority for all Puerto Rico leaders should be getting their financial house in order".[14] Republican members of Congress have come out against statehood; with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying that he would not bring statehood to a vote in the Senate and that statehood for Puerto Rico was "another example of government overreach."[8] Republican Senator for Arizona Martha McSally came out against statehood on a partisan basis, asserting that it would lead to more Democratic Party senators, despite the fact that Puerto Rico had several territory-wide offices held by Republicans at the time.[18] On July 28, Jenniffer González, a Republican who serves as the non-voting representative of Puerto Rico in Congress,[19] spoke to the United States House Administration Subcommittee on Elections and reiterated her previous support for statehood.[20] Florida Senator Marco Rubio has expressed his support for a "Yes" vote.[21][22]

As the Democratic Party presidential candidate, President Joe Biden indicated he believed statehood "would be the most effective means of ensuring that residents of Puerto Rico are treated equally, with equal representation on a federal level",[23] but has written that Puerto Ricans have a right to self-determination;[8][24] the Democratic Party's 2020 platform, which was voted upon in August, similarly expresses support for Puerto Ricans to determine whether the archipelago should become a state.[25][26] The related issue of D.C. statehood was supported by the Democratic 2020 platform[25] and by Joe Biden, while having less support among the wider public than Puerto Rican statehood.[6] Following the passing of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives calling for D.C. Statehood, the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee called for federal legislators to support similar measures for Puerto Rico, and acknowledge the upcoming referendum.[27] On July 30, former President Barack Obama called for citizens in Puerto Rico and D.C. to have "equal representation in our government".[16][28]

Detailed map of 2020 Puerto Rico Status Referendum by municipality

The referendum was non-binding, since the power to grant statehood lies with the U.S. Congress rather than Puerto Rico. If Puerto Rico became a state, it would be expected to have two senators and four House representatives.[29] Congress can approve statehood through a simple majority vote in each house. The filibuster could likely not apply to statehood admission, due to it not being a legislative matter.[30]

• 51st state
• Hawaii Admission Act, the last act of admission of a US state (1959)
• Statehood movement in the District of Columbia