Examining Procedures Regarding Puerto Rico's Political Status and Economic Outloook

The island of Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States in 1898 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. For the past 117 years, Puerto Rico has remained a territory with close economic and social ties to the United States. Puerto Ricans are United States citizens at birth, have served in all branches of the U.S. military since 1917, do not pay Federal income taxes, are not allowed to vote for the President of the United States, and have no voting representation in the United States Senate or the House of Representatives. On November 6, 2012, a referendum concerning the political status of Puerto Rico was held on the island. This was the fourth time a vote on the political status of the island had been held and the first time the result had been in favor of changing political status. The voters were asked to answer two questions: 1) Whether they wished to maintain Puerto Rico’s current political status; 2) Regardless of the choice in the first question, whether they preferred statehood, independence, or to be a "sovereign free associated state." The results of the vote according to the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission (CEE, as it’s known by its Spanish acronym) were that approximately 54.0% voted "no" for the first question, with 46% voting "yes"; and approximately 61.2% chose the "statehood" option in the second question, with independence receiving 5.49% and sovereign free association 33.34%.