In 2012 , for the first time since Puerto Rico became a republic in 1952 , a majority of Puerto Ricans voted against the current relationship with the U.S. It was a close contest , with 54 percent saying " no . " But when take what political condition they preferred , " statehood " received the most balloting by a large margin [ source : Fabian ] , though a quarter of voters of the first question left that second question blank . In 2017 , the question was asked again in a miserable turnout competition . More than 500,000 people privilege statehood in that referendum , followed by nearly 7,800 votes for independency / free association and more than 6,800 balloting for the current status .
Anon - binding referendumon the subject was once again held in November 2020 , with a yes / no choice to the question " Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?“Fifty - two percent voted " yes"while 47 percentage vote " no . " But even so , it ’s not enough to make the commonwealth a state .
Puerto Rico is a self - governing land that is " consort " with the U.S. Thanks to a 1917 law , Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizen , but since Puerto Rico is n’t a res publica , the island ’s inhabitants can not vote in presidential elections . In an singular twist , they can vote inpresidential primaries , because primaries are organized by the popular and Republican internal committee , not the Union governance [ germ : Helgesen ] .
agree toArticle IV , discussion section 3 of the U.S. Constitution , only Congress has the ability to authorise the creation of a raw state . Specifically , subdivision 3 prohibits the introduction of new states from the territory of others without their consent , or the combining of two or more commonwealth without congressional approval [ rootage : Monk ] .
In pattern , a majority of the 50 states began asU.S. soil . Either the dominion petition Congress for license to outline a res publica constitution and chosen representatives , or they surveil the more strong-growing " Tennessee Plan . " Tennessee , the very first U.S. dominion , was rejected in its first bid for statehood , but decided to enlist a state constitution anyway , and station two senators and a representative to Congress [ generator : Lehleitner ] . Although Congress decline to seat the adult male , they successfully buttonhole for statehood . Several other states pursue the Tennessee model , include Alaska .
Official admission to the Union require Congress to outline — and the chairwoman to sign — a bill call in an " enabling routine . " For Puerto Rico to become a state , it would ask to convince Congress and the president that statehood is not only in the best interest of the Puerto Rican hoi polloi , but in the best involvement of the United States as a whole . The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives would need to approve the statehood entrance money by a simple majority ballot , though some member of Congress want to raise that threshold to two - tierce legal age [ source : Longely , Rifkin ] .
For some perspective , let ’s bet at where the other 50 states came from , and how the United States rise from 13 coastal colonies to the world ’s third - turgid country .
Where the 50 States Came From
In 1783 , King George III signed the Treaty of Paris , formally end theAmerican War of Independenceand recognizing the 13 former British colony — New Hampshire , Massachusetts Bay , Rhode Island , Connecticut , New York , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Maryland , Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina and Georgia — as " free sovereign and independent states " [ source : National Archives ] .
As part of the Treaty of Paris , England give over the area that is now the eastern United States , from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Mississippi River , bound by Canada to the north and the Spanish dependency of East and West Florida to the south [ source : National Atlas ] . This territory far surmount the original boundaries of the 13 colonies . In an drive to avoid territorial conflict among the new states , Congress convinced the State Department to foreswear control of uninhabited lands to the federal government .
These " unappropriated " frontier lands were separate into territories with name like the Northwest Territory , Mississippi Territory and Southwest Territory . One by one , portions of those territories petitioned for statehood , which is how the Northwest Territory eventually became the states of Ohio , Indiana , Michigan , Illinois , Wisconsin and Minnesota .
Other states were carved out of subsist state : Vermont was sliced from New York ( 1791 ) ; Kentucky was pay from Virginia ( 1792 ) ; Tennessee began as the westerly extension of North Carolina ( 1796 ) ; Maine was originally part of Massachusetts ( 1820 ) ; and West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863 to join the Union in the Civil War [ sources : National AtlasandWest Virginia Archives and History ] .
The rest of the U.S. began as country purchased from other countries or as the spoils of war . The Louisiana Purchase ( 1803 ) is the largest and most renowned , doubling the size of it of the Carry Amelia Moore Nation for a price tag of $ 15 million [ source : Library of Congress ] . The U.S. also bought Alaska from Russia and Florida from Spain ( but it would take more than 20 years for Florida to accomplish statehood after theAdams - Onis treatywas sign in 1819 ) .
Large portions of the American West were once Mexican territories . Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836 and was annexed by the U.S. as a state in 1845 . After drop off theMexican - American War , Mexico give up the land that would become California , Nevada , Utah , Arizona and part of Colorado and New Mexico for $ 15 million [ seed : National Atlas ] .
Puerto Rico is n’t the only rival for the 51st state . On the next pageboy , we ’ll hash out Puerto Rico ’s chances and look at some of the statehood failure that fare before it .
The 51st State?
Puerto Rico is only the latest in a long line of would - be 51st states . Over the past 200 years , there have been several attempt to carve out young states from existing ones , mostly trigger by tax and budget feuds . " South California " tried to split from the more industrialized N in 1859 , but Congress said no . In 1861 , division of Tennessee , Georgia and Alabama seek to shape a inert United States Department of State called Nickjack that would n’t break away from the Union . More of late , rural " South Jersey " try several times to part from its push urban north in the seventies and ' LXXX [ reference : Trinklein ] .
As a commonwealth , Puerto Rico is as close as you may get to being a state without arrest a genius on the iris . Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens who pay and receiveSocial Securitybenefits . They can not vote in Union election and they do n’t payfederal income taxesalthough they do pay things like payroll taxes , Social Security taxes and more . Puerto Rico is in charge of its own intragroup affairs , but the U.S. controls interstate trade , foreign relative , customs , military service , immigration , agriculture , radio and television and the postal inspection and repair .
After Puerto Rican citizens passed the referendum on statehood in 2012 , what were the odds that Congress would take up their case ? Not very good . AlthoughPresident Obamapledged to take action if Puerto Rican citizen made their preference cleared , the political timing was not in Puerto Rico ’s favour . Puerto Rico has a staggering43 percent poverty rate — more than double Mississippi ( 19.7 pct ) , the current most impoverished commonwealth — and would be ennoble to billions in Union spending on societal programs , Medicaid and more . Since spending undercut tend to be a top congressional antecedency , this is a strike against Puerto Rican statehood [ generator : Fabian ] .
Puerto Rico is one of several " unincorporated dominion " acquire by the U.S. through warfare treaties and purchases . In 1901 and 1902 , the Supreme Court ruled in the so - called " Insular Cases " to give limited constitutional rights to unincorporated territory like Puerto Rico and Guam , on the reason that they would never likely become states [ source : Helgesen ] .
Today , both Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands share Puerto Rico ’s queer political condition ; their residents are U.S. citizens who cannotvote in Union election . Guam had hope of defend its own referendum on statehood in 2014 , but never did , and the U.S. Virgin Islands have no plans for such a right to vote , known as a plebiscite . Puerto Rico has shown the most political interest in statehood , holding six such plebiscites since 1967 .
New U.S. State FAQ
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The Puerto Rican vote for statehood grabbed newspaper headline , but the outcome of the vote measure were far from clear . The referendum asked two disjoined head : " Are you satisfied with the current territorial status ? " to which 54 percent voted no . The second head asked , " Which status do you prefer ? " When the votes were tallied , 61.5 percentage chose statehood , while 33 percent chose " sovereign liberal associated state , " which is the same as the current commonwealth position . But a full 466,337 people advisedly left the second question blank in protest to the unmatched two - part construction of the referendum , which many consider rigged for statehood supporters . If those blank votes are look , then statehood loses . The Obama administration had foretell to act on a clear authorisation from the Puerto Rican the great unwashed , but this referendum is anything but .
