US House Passes Bill Allowing Puerto Rico to Vote on Statehood (again)
Now it's up to the Senate to decide if Puerto Rico should be allowed to vote for statehood.
Earlier today the US House passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, a bill that would schedule a binding referendum where residents would vote on Puerto Rico’s status. Voters would be given three options to choose from: statehood, independence or independence followed by free association with the U.S. (The bill also funds a non-partisan voter education campaign to help everyone understand the difference between the options and what “free association” even means.) The bill cleared the House by a vote of 233-191 with all House Democrats and 16 Republicans voting in support of the measure. It will now be sent to the Senate where it must clear the herculean hurdle of reaching 60 votes. 🙄
UPDATE: As of July 2023, the Puerto Rico Status Act has not received a vote in the Senate.
Battleground veterans will know this isn’t the first time Puerto Rico has voted on its statehood status. Voters in PR have actually voted in six referendums on statehood since 1967. (They literally just voted on statehood during the 2020 general election.) To see how Puerto Ricans voted in previous referendums alongside the history of the island’s long fight for self-determination, check out my previous post on Puerto Rico statehood linked below!
