Puerto Rico Voted for Statehood with the US

• 06.12.2017, 10:15
•  America,  World

AP

On June 11, Puerto Rico  overwhelmingly voted for statehood with the US, however will ultimately decide whether the status of the US commonwealth changes, PIX reports.

According to the State Electoral Commission ninety-seven percent of the votes in the nonbinding referendum favored statehood, an increase over the results of a 2012 referendum. It was the fifth such vote on statehood.

Four plebiscites, or popular votes, have been held to decide the commonwealth's status in relation to America. Three of four times, Puerto Rico residents voted against statehood (in 1967, 1993 and 1998).

In a 2012 referendum the majority of voters for the first time chose statehood, but it didn't go anywhere. (some argued the results should have been considered a "no" since more than one-third of voters left the part about alternative status blank.)

To note in 1950 federal law helped clarify the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, paving the way for a public vote on its new constitution. After it was approved in 1952 by the people of Puerto Rico, President Harry Truman, Congress and the Puerto Rican governor, the island became an official US commonwealth.