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this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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As much as I hate the GOP, Puerto Rico has never attempted to apply for statehood. Their referendums on the subject have never shown a large enough amount of support for them to try a real vote. They're typically around a 50-50 split.
State or not I think its pretty ridiculous that they are american citizens but can't vote for president of the united states... People living in DC get to vote and aren't living in a state.
But they choose to not. One of those cake and eat it too scenarios.
A territory like them is eligible for Federal money from various programs, while not having to pay Federal income tax. If they became a state, they'd then have to pay income tax, lose benefit of the free program money, but be allowed to vote.
If you don't want to fully commit to the whole package and are milking the advantages of being a territory, should you really get a right to choose how the package that is being taxed and giving you free money is steered?
(Oversimplification, of course.)
If I were a member of a territory, I don't really know where my thoughts would land.
However, as one that is taxed, it seems that allowing the untaxed to choose our taxed destiny would be disingenuous.
You make it sound like Puerto Rico is some tax haven where they don't pay the federal government anything, but Puerto Rico pays more in total federal taxes than 6 US states.
Only citizens residing in a state for the majority of the year can vote for federal elections. Basically you need a senator to vote federally. Hawaii and all other states were the same way when they too were territories. All PR needs to do is vote for statehood and then I guess the political shitshow starts as well as flag redesign.
Except we made an exception for citizens that reside in Washington DC. They have no representative in the senate, but were given 3 electoral college votes for president and vice president.
So we totally can (and have) extended the right to vote to citizens living outside one of the 50 states to vote, we just won't for Puerto Rico. :(
That exception was the 23rd amendment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
Puerto Ricans as an example don’t meet the same conditions e.g. paying federal income tax. Hence statehood as their option to representation.
You aren't correct. https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/voting-residence
You generally need to have established residency in a state at some point in your life, but there is zero requirement to spend any time there if you live abroad in order to retain your voting rights. Several states allow children who have been born overseas the right to vote at their parents last US address.
However, because Puerto Rico is part of the United States, residents there (even if you retired there after living in New York your entire life) fall under the rules for Puerto Rico.
So, you can live in Mexico as a US Citizen, permanently, and retain voting rights in your last state... Or you can live in Puerto Rico and lose the ability to vote for president.
Fair should have said Puerto Ricans.
US Citizens that reside in Puerto Rico.
Sure just better to say Americans that haven’t resided in a state in the past then. Or more simply Puerto Ricans but at some point I feel like we’re just language lawyering here.
What are the main reasons they have for not voting in favour of statehood?