On Tuesday, citizens of Puerto Rico had three options to pave the way for their future. Similar to 2012, 2017, and 2020, voters in Puerto Rico voted for statehood. The election night results show that over 56% of voters backed statehood, but what happens next?
The final results show that 56.82% voted for statehood, 30.85% voted for independence, and 12.33% voted for free association with the United States. The mandate was further cemented with the election of Jenniffer González-Colón (R), a pro-statehood candidate, being sent to the governor's office. In the exit polls, the statehood option received more votes than any of the gubernatorial candidates, showing that Puerto Rico statehood was the biggest mandate of the night.
In a statement, George Laws Garcia, the Executive Director of the PRSC, noted that "the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico have made it loud and clear that they want full democracy, federal voting rights and full equality through statehood for their future. But for the island's undemocratic and unequal territory status to end Congress must now legislate."
Voter turnout for the plebiscite was 57%, and Laws Garcia affirms that "this is a clear mandate for Congress to pass legislation to offer voters on the island a definitive and binding choice to resolve the scourge of territorial colonialism in Puerto Rico."
Laws Garcia is now calling on Congress to do its job and to listen to the will of the Puerto Rican people, saying that their next move should be to "take action on legislation to grant Puerto Ricans a legally binding vote among the non-territorial options."
Citing reports that show that 59% of Americans also support Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state, Laws Garcia believes that "Congress must now do its part to empower the 3.2 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico and live up to America's founding values of government by consent of the governed."
The number of U.S. lawmakers that support Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state of the union continues to grow, as some members like Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R) are saying that they would support a statehood vote if the voters in Puerto Rico first voted in support of the initiative.
Now that the was taken and Puerto Ricans on the island back statehood, the soon-to-be Republican-controlled U.S. Congress will be on the clock.
