There are many misconceptions about Puerto Rico. Some people believe that Puerto Rico is a separate country from the United States and that a passport is required for entry. Others believe that Spanish would no longer be welcome in Puerto Rico if it transitioned to statehood – despite the fact that Spanish is frequently spoken in many states.
One of the most common misbeliefs is that the people of Puerto Rico have never voted for statehood.
A recent informal social media poll asking whether Puerto Rico should be a state received numerous answers like these:
- “This should be put to a vote among only Puerto Ricans. Let them decide!”
- “It should be up to them whether or not to join the Union as a state! If they do, they should be welcomed with open arms!”
There were also answers like these:
- “No, PR voted to not become state previously so we need to give them independence and responsibility for themselves.”
- “They didn’t want statehood before so not now either.”
In fact, Puerto Rico has voted for statehood in four referendum votes since 2012.
The Plebiscites
There have been four plebiscites – also known as referenda or status votes – in Puerto Rico in the 21st century: in 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024.
- In 2012, 61% of voters chose statehood.
- In 2017, 97% chose statehood.
- In 2020, 53% chose statehood.
- In 2024, 57% chose statehood.
In 2018, in the aftermath of the 2017 vote, a commission of former governors and other well known Puerto Rico Ricans traveled to Washington and officially requested admission as a state on behalf of Puerto Rican voters. Similarly, in 2021, on the heels of the 2020 vote, Resident Commissioner, Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon introduced a bill to admit Puerto Rico as a state.
To be sure, there have been debates over the text of the ballot, namely how the Puerto Rico status options are described. In 2017, for example, some eligible voters complained that although the ballot contained an option to continue Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. territory, it did not include an option for Puerto Rico to be a “commonwealth” – a term sometimes used to describe Puerto Rico’s current status and other times used to describe an impossible mix of independence with expanded U.S.-related benefits, including protected U.S. citizenship for people in a the new nation of Puerto Rico.
This second, expanded, “commonwealth” option was left off the 2017 ballot as a non-viable alternative. Some eligible voters chose not to vote because, although a “territory” option was on the ballot (garnering less than two percent of the vote), the expanded “commonwealth” option was not. “Commonwealth” supporters sat home on election day and then complained that the final vote was flawed due to lack of turnout.
Inflated Support for Non-statehood Options?
Puerto Ricans treasure their U.S. citizenship. As a 2011 White House report observed, Puerto Ricans “value their US citizenship enormously,” and a loss of U.S. citizenship would “be viewed with hostility by the vast majority of Puerto Ricans.”
Although U.S. citizenship is Constitutionally guaranteed to Puerto Ricans only under statehood, there is often a misperception that current U.S. citizens born in Puerto Rico can count on maintaining their U.S. citizenship no matter what the future holds. This falsehood may artificially inflate support for independence – either with or without a military free association component – and the traditional “Commonwealth” option, which is a mix of independence and state-like benefits and rights. Yet even with the inflated support, it is statehood that always emerges as the most popular options in plebiscites.
US Justice Department Asserts Constitutional Citizenship Possible Only Under Statehood
So Why is Puerto Rico not a State?
As we have seen, many people believe that a territory can become a state just by voting to become one.
But Congress must admit states. Under the U.S. Constitution, it is up to Congress to form new states. A plebiscite is a vote may be taken to get a sense of what the people want, but it is not binding on Congress, and, at least for now, Congress has not chosen to respond to the expressed will of the people of Puerto Rico.
Updated on January 16, 2025 to reflect 2024 plebiscite results and related developments.
