The Puerto Rico statehood movement () is a political movement which aims to make Puerto Rico a state of the United States. Currently, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated organized territory. Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States in 1898 following the US victory at the Spanish–American War.
As of 2023, the population of Puerto Rico is 3.2 million, around half the average state population and higher than that of 19 U.S. states. Statehood is one of several competing options for the future political status of Puerto Rico, including: maintaining its current status, becoming fully independent, or becoming a freely associated state. Puerto Rico has held seven referendums on the political status of the island: 1967 and 1993, which resulted in a Commonwealth victory, 1998, where "None of the above" was the winner, 2012, 2017, 2020 and 2024, the latter four resulting in a statehood win. Opponents of statehood disputed the legitimacy of those latter referendums.
In the 2020 referendum, the 55% turnout rate equaled that for the simultaneous 2020 gubernatorial race and the 2016 gubernatorial race. The most recent referendum was in 2024, with a majority (58.61%) of valid votes cast for statehood. The turnout rate increased to 57%. However, at this referendum, the option to keep the current status was not on the ballot.
However, these referendums are non-binding, as the power to grant statehood lies with the United States Congress. Due to Puerto Rico's status, some have described it as "the oldest colony in the modern world".José Trías Monge. Puerto Rico : the trials of the oldest colony in the world. New Haven, CT; London, England : Yale University Press, 1999. p. 4.
Background
Following the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States in 1898, through the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Puerto Rico became an unincorporated, organized territory of the US through a series of judicial decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States, collectively known as the Insular Cases and the enactment of several statutes by Congress.
In 1900, the U.S. Congress enacted the Foraker Act, establishing a civil government in the territory and then in 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted United States citizenship, by the enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act. The Office of the President is responsible for policy relations between the United States and Puerto Rico, although according to the Territorial Clause of Constitution of the United States of America "The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States...".
In 1946, Puerto Rican native Jesús T. Piñero was appointed as governor. The first Puerto Rican gubernatorial election happened in 1948 and resulted in a victory of Popular Democratic Party candidate Luis Muñoz Marín. In 1952, voters in Puerto Rico approved a new constitution proposed by Governor Muñoz Marin after increased pressure locally along with internationally to decolonize the island; this led to the territory being designated as a commonwealth. This new title of "commonwealth" did not change how Puerto Rico was related to the United States, allowing Congress to continue holding power over it as an unincorporated territory. The current constitution of Puerto Rico entered into force on July 25, 1952.
Potential benefits of statehood
Puerto Rico is, by a large margin, the largest U.S. territory in terms of both population and geographical area, being similar to Connecticut with respect to population size (~3.3 million to CT's 3.6 million) and geographical area (13,791 square km to CT's 14,357). Puerto Rico residents do not participate in the Presidential elections because Puerto Rico does not have any electoral votes, but individual Puerto Ricans do have the right to vote when residing in a U.S. state or the District of Columbia. If Puerto Rico were to become a state, they would gain the ability to vote in Presidential elections.
Benefits of statehood include an additional $10 billion per year in federal funds, the right to vote in presidential elections, higher Social Security and Medicare benefits, increased minimum wage, and a right for its government agencies and municipalities to file for bankruptcy. The latter is currently prohibited.
The primary debate over Puerto Rican statehood is about representation. Some proposals seek to give it representation without statehood, giving it its apportioned representatives in the House and two Senators like a state without officially adding it to the union.
Whether Puerto Rico is given statehood or simply apportioned members of Congress as a Commonwealth or territory, this will have an impact on the make-up of the House. As the Reapportionment Act of 1929 mandates the House be capped at 435 members, Puerto Rico would end up with Representatives that would otherwise have been apportioned to other states.
History
Since the transfer of sovereignty of Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, the relationship between Puerto Rico and the US has been debated by many. On April 11, 1899, the peace treaty between Spain and the USA (the 1898 Treaty of Paris) became effective, and established a military government in Puerto Rico. This was short lived, since the following year (April 2, 1900) Congress enacted the Foraker Act, which established a civil government and free trade between Puerto Rico and the USA. Puerto Ricans, although incapable of electing members of the territory's executive branch, were now able to elect their local representatives and a resident commissioner to the US Congress, who had a voice but no vote. In 1917, the enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act the territory of Puerto Rico was organized and statutory US citizenship was granted to its residents.
Since 1967, there have been several referendums, which included questions on statehood. Puerto Ricans chose not to alter the status quo in referendums until 2012. The 2012 referendum produced a more equivocal result.
1967 referendum
A referendum on the status of the island was held in Puerto Rico on July 23, 1967.Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p552 Voters were given the choice between being a Commonwealth, statehood or independence. The majority of voters voted for Commonwealth status while around 40% showed support for joining as a state, with a voter turnout of 65.9%.Nohlen, p555
1993 referendum
1998 referendum
A referendum in December 1998 offered voters four political status options: statehood, independence, free association, and territorial commonwealth, plus "none of the above." The latter option won 50.5% of the vote, followed by statehood, with 46.6%. Turnout was 71%.
2012 referendum
On November 6, 2012, voters were presented with two questions: (1) whether they agreed to continue with Puerto Rico's territorial status and (2) to indicate the political status they preferred from three possibilities: statehood, independence, or a sovereign nation in free association with the United States. Voters who chose "No" to the first question numbered 970,910 (54.0%), expressing themselves against continuing the current political status, while those who voted "Yes" numbered 828,077 (46.0%), indicating their desire to continue the current political status relationship. Of those who answered the second question, 834,191 (61.2%) chose statehood, 454,768 (33.3%) chose free association, and 74,895 (5.5%) chose independence. The preferred status consultation did not include Puerto Rico's current status as a territory (Estado Libre Asociado as defined by the 1952 Constitution) as a choice, but instead an alternative named "E.L.A. Soberano" On December 11, 2012, the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico enacted a concurrent resolution requesting the President and the Congress of the United States to respond diligently and effectively on the demand of the people of Puerto Rico to end its current political status and to begin the transition of Puerto Rico to become a state of the union. This was followed by a hearing at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Puerto Rico's status on August 1, 2013, and (in 2014) resolutions introduced in both houses of the United States Congress (H.R. 2000; S. 2020) to hold a yes-or-no referendum among the residents of Puerto Rico on statehood. Both resolutions died in committee.
2017 referendum
Because there were almost 500,000 blank ballots in the 2012 referendum, creating confusion as to the voters' true desire, Congress ignored the results, but passed a budget bill which included $2.5M in funding for a future referendum, intended to help educate the population on any future plebiscite. The fifth referendum was held on June 11, 2017, and offered voters three options: "Statehood", "Free Association/Independence" and "Current Territorial Status". The turnout was only 23% because statehood opponents boycotted it, arguing that the ballot language was biased towards pro-statehood. Some would later try to attribute the boycott to the PPD party, citing its support for the status quo. Of the voters who "participated", 97.18% chose statehood, 1.50% favored independence and 1.32% chose to maintain the commonwealth status.
Criticism The June 2017 referendum was, according to The New York Times, a "flawed election" where the turnout was only 23%, in part because most statehood opponents sat out. 97% of votes cast favored statehood. The November 2020 referendum was the first to ask voters a simple yes-or-no question: "Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State?". There were 655,505 votes in favor of statehood (52.52%) and 592,671 votes opposed (47.48%), with a turnout of 1,248,476 voters out of the total population stated by census Population Estimates of 3,221,789 as of July 1, 2022.
Although the two referendums (November 2012 and June 2017) also had ostensibly pro-statehood outcomes, The New York Times described them as "marred, with ballot language phrased to favor the party in office". For example, the fourth referendum, held in November 2012, asked voters (1) whether they wanted to maintain the current political status of Puerto Rico and, if not, (2) which alternative status they prefer. Of the fifty-four percent (54.0%) who voted "No" on maintaining the status quo, 61.11% chose statehood, 33.34% chose free association, and 5.55% chose independence.
2018 Puerto Rico Admission Act (H.R. 6246) In 2018, the 2018 Puerto Rico Admission Act was introduced to the United States Congress by Jenniffer González-Colón, and had 34 co-sponsors. It would have mandated Puerto Rico becoming a state of the Union by start of 2021.
Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act (H.R. 4901)
A bill (H.R. 4901) for Puerto Ricans to vote "yes" or "no" on statehood was introduced on October 29, 2019, by Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón, but died in Committee. A corresponding bill in the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico that would implement the vote, known in English as the Law for the Final Definition of the Political Status of Puerto Rico (P.S. 1467), was approved by both houses on March 31, 2020, and sent to the Governor for signature. The single question was "Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?", with only two options: "yes" or "no".
2020 referendum