Puerto Rico political status plebiscites

Three main alternatives are generally presented to Puerto Rican voters in status plebiscites: full independence, maintenance or enhancement of commonwealth status, and full statehood into the American Union. The exact expectations for each of these status formulas are a matter of debate by a given position's adherents and detractors. Puerto Ricans have proposed positions that modify the alternatives above, such as (a) indemnified independence with phased-out US subsidy, (b) expanded political but not fiscal autonomy, and (c) statehood with a gradual phasing out of federal tax exemption. [note 1][1] Most experts downplay the importance of all recent plebiscites. For example, Roberto Barreto wrote in the Marxist International Socialist Review that "all the recent plebiscite proposals have been colonial ones, leaving the final decision in the hands of Congress. By defining the plebiscite as 'non-binding,' the electoral exercise, far from being an act of self-determination, turns into a mere survey. These plebiscites are essentially opinion polls to be considered or ignored by the body that reserves for itself all decision-making powers, the U.S. Congress."[2]

Table summary

The following table summarizes the results of Puerto Rico's plebiscites so far.

Results of Puerto Rico's status referenda, vote total (% total).[3]
1967[4] 1993[5] 1998[6][7] 2012[8]
Independence 4,248 (0.6%) 75,620 (4.4%) 39,838 (2.54%) NA 5.5%
Commonwealth 425,132 (60.4%) 826,326 (48.6%) 993 (0.06%) 46.0% NA
Free Association NA NA 4536 (0.29%) NA 33.2%
Statehood 274,312 (39.0%) 788,296 (46.3%) 728,157 (46.49%) NA 61.3%
None of the above NA NA 787,900 (50.3%) NA
Electoral turnout 66%[9][10] 74% 71% 79%

The exact significance of referendum results is debated by local observers. The 1967 results showed strong support for maintaining the commonwealth, but this victory was followed by the first loss in twenty years of governorship by the Popular Democratic Party, the main supporter of the commonwealth association. This occurred in part because of bickering leadership. The 1993 results appear to protest the ideas or forum used to change status as imposed by the then-ruling Popular Democratic Party; the demands were controversial because there was no assurance, and great doubt, that they would be accepted by Congress. The 1998 results, where "none of the above", which was the PPD sponsored choice was the winner, protested criteria set forth by the then ruling New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico.

The 1967 plebiscite

In 1967, the Legislative Assembly tested the political interests of the Puerto Rican people by passing a local Plebiscite Act that allowed a vote on the status of Puerto Rico. This constituted the first plebiscite by the Legislature for a choice on three status options. At 60.4% percent of the vote, the commonwealth option won the majority vote. Following this plebiscite, efforts in the 1970s to enact legislation to address the status issue died in congressional committees.

The 1991 Constitutional Amendment Referendum

The 1991 Referendum on the proposed "Claim to Democratic Rights" asked the voters to approve the addition of an amendment to the Puerto Rican constitution. The wording of this amendment would guarantee:

Passage of this referendum would have constituted a claim for the government of Puerto Rico to establish these rights in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico constitution and petition the President and Congress for these rights, but it was rejected by the people of Puerto Rico on a vote of 660,264 (53%) against to 559,259 (44.9%) in favor.[11]

As per the Congressional Research Service report, despite PDP and PIP support, a majority (53%) voted against the proposal. Some contended that the decision to schedule the referendum represented an indirect step to block statehood. Others perceived the rejection to reflect dissatisfaction with the governor. Another explanation offered for the vote was that some cast their ballots out of fear that a “yes” vote would result in a further degradation of federal benefits and the loss of U.S. citizenship.[12]

The 1993 plebiscite

A subsequent plebiscite was organized by the Puerto Rican government in 1993 (in which the Congress played a more substantial role) where, at 48.6%, the commonwealth status managed to win a plurality, though not a majority vote. The current political status (status quo) failed to receive the majority support it sought.[13][14]

U.S. Congress played a more substantial role in the 1993 plebiscite than it did in the 1967 plebiscite. In the 1992 election campaign, the PNP candidate for governor urged, and the legislature agreed, that a plebiscite on status be held “after the U.S. Congress failed to approve” status legislation. Since definitions on the ballot were formulated by the political parties themselves, neither Congress nor executive branch officials intervened to ensure that the alternatives presented to the voters would pass constitutional muster. The disconnect between the ballot option and constitutional requirements was summarized in the House report accompanying legislation introduced three years after the plebiscite, as follows: The 1993 definition of “Commonwealth” failed to present the voters with status options consistent with full self-government, and it was misleading to propose to the voters an option which was unconstitutional and unacceptable to the Congress in almost every respect. No option on the ballot in 1993 received a majority of votes. Some contend that statehood may have suffered the greatest loss, considering the governor and the legislature were members of the PNP and the plebiscite itself was a major campaign promise for the governor. Others may argue that PDP advocates did not achieve a final victory in the 1993 vote because Congress rejected the commonwealth option presented on ballots. In the end, Commonwealth status was again upheld in the 1993 plebiscite.[12][15]

The 1998 plebiscite

In the last locally organized plebiscite held in Puerto Rico, which took place on December 13, 1998, the current status quo (Commonwealth status) received less than one tenth of one percent (0.06%) of the total vote.[16] The majority vote went to a "none of the above" option which received 50.3%. This was followed by the statehood option which received 46.7%. The option of independence received 2.5% of the vote.

The 2012 plebiscite

On November 6, 2012, a fourth status plebiscite took place. This one consisted of two questions. The first question asked voters whether they wanted to maintain the existing commonwealth status under the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution or whether they preferred a nonterritorial option. The second question asked voters which would be the preferred alternative if a non-territorial option was wanted and gave voters to choose between three non-territorial alternatives: statehood, independence, or free association.[17][18]

Ten days after the 2012 plebiscite, on November 16, 2012, the Electoral Commission reported that 54 percent voted "no" on preserving Puerto Rico's territorial status, the first part of the referendum.[19] On the second part, where voters were asked to choose between statehood, independence and free association, 61.2 percent chose statehood, while 33.3 preferred free association and 5.5 percent voted for independence.[8][20] However, these results have been challenged by observers who note that nearly 500,000 blank ballots were ignored in the reporting by the pro-statehood PNP, contrary to previous Puerto Rico court rulings of Sánchez y Colón v. ELA, 134 DPR 445 (1993); and 134 DPR 503 (1993) and Suárez Cáceres v. CEE, 176 DPR 31 (2009), both of which affirmed that blank ballots should be considered as "none of the above" when that option was not offered on the ballot.[21] Following these judicial precedents the results would reflect that statehood was favored by 44.4% of the ballots cast, while 55.6% were opposed [22] On December 11, 2012, the pro-statehood 16th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico passed a concurrent resolution "[t]o request the President and the Congress of the United States to ... begin the process to admit Puerto Rico to the Union as a State."[23]

President Obama pledged to respect the will of the people of Puerto Rico "if there was a clear majority."[24] A December 2012 statement clarifying the Obama administration’s position on the status plebiscite results stated, "the people of Puerto Rico want the issue of status resolved, and a majority chose statehood." A previous White House statement had said, "Now is the time for Congress to act and the administration will work with them [with Congress] on that effort so that the people of Puerto Rico can determine their own future."[25] On April 10, 2013, President Obama moved on his promise to respect the will of the people of Puerto Rico in his Fiscal Year 2014 Budget proposal to Congress, asking for "$2.5 million for the Puerto Rico Elections Commission to be used for voter education and the plebiscite."[26]

On May 14, 2013, the heavily pro-Commonwealth 17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico approved a concurrent resolution that stated, in part, "On November 6, 2012, a plesbicite took place in Puerto Rico concurrent with the general elections whose results were inconclusive since none of the options garnished a majority of votes."[27] On the next day, May 15, 2013, the pro-statehood Representative Pedro Pierluisi introduced the Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act to the House of Representatives asking Congress to admit Puerto Rico as the 51st State.[28]

Congressionally mandated plebiscites

No congressionally mandated plebiscite has ever been held, and average voter turnout in the locally enacted status votes has been about 10% lower than in general elections.[29][30] However, various bills have been introduced in Congress to effect a plebiscite backed by Congress and to which Congress would be committed.

Notes

  1. ↑ Contrary to common misconception, residents of Puerto Rico do pay U.S. federal taxes: customs taxes, import/export taxes, federal commodity taxes, social security taxes, etc. Most residents do not pay federal income taxes, but all residents must pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) and all other federal taxes.

References

  1. ↑ Contrary to common misconception, residents of Puerto Rico do pay U.S. federal taxes: customs taxes (which are subsequently returned to the Puerto Rico Treasury) (See http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/prpage.htm Dept of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs.), import/export taxes (See http://stanford.wellsphere.com/healthcare-industry-policy-article/puerto-rico/267827), federal commodity taxes (See http://stanford.wellsphere.com/healthcare-industry-policy-article/puerto-rico/267827), social security taxes (See http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc903.html), etc. Residents pay federal payroll taxes, such as Social Security (See http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc903.html) and Medicare (See http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE58N5X320090924), as well as Commonwealth of Puerto Rico income taxes (See http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2003/vol7n19/USNotInnocent-en.html and http://www.htrcpa.com/businessinpr1.html). All federal employees (See http://www.heritage.org/research/taxes/wm2338.cfm), those who do business with the federal government (See http://www.mcvpr.com/CM/CurrentEvents/CEOsummitarticle.pdf), Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S. (See http://www.jct.gov/x-24-06.pdf Page 9, line 1.), and some others (For example, Puerto Rican residents that are members of the U.S. military, See http://www.heritage.org/research/taxes/wm2338.cfm; and Puerto Rico residents who earned income from sources outside Puerto Rico, See http://www.jct.gov/x-24-06.pdf, pp 14–15.) also pay federal income taxes. In addition, because the cutoff point for income taxation is lower than that of the U.S. IRS code, and because the per-capita income in Puerto Rico is much lower than the average per-capita income on the mainland, more Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes to the local taxation authority (i.e., the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) than if the IRS code were applied to the island. This occurs because "the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico government has a wider set of responsibilities than do U.S. State and local governments" (See http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-541). As residents of Puerto Rico pay into Social Security, Puerto Ricans are eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement, but are excluded from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (Commonwealth of Puerto Rico residents, unlike residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and residents of the 50 States, do not receive the SSI. See http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.21/handbook-2114.html), and the island actually receives less than 15% of the Medicaid funding it would normally receive if it were a U.S. state (See http://www.magiccarpetautotransport.com/auto-transport/puerto-rico-auto-transport.php). However, Medicare providers receive less-than-full state-like reimbursements for services rendered to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico, even though the latter paid fully into the system (See http://www.prfaa.com/news/?p=252). It has also been estimated (See http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2007/mar07/07-03-28.html) that, because the population of the Island is greater than that of 50% of the States, if it were a state, Puerto Rico would have six to eight seats in the U.S. Congress' House of Representatives, in addition to the two seats in the Senate.(See http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2007/mar07/07-03-28.html, http://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-action/bria-17-4-c.html# and http://www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&sid=cp1109rs5H&refer=&r_n=hr597.110 [Note that for the later, the official US Congress database website, you will need to resubmit a query. The document in question is called "House Report 110-597 – PUERTO RICO DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2007." These are the steps to follow: http://www.thomas.gov --> Committee Reports --> 110 --> drop down "Word/Phrase" and pick "Report Number" --> type "597" next to Report Number. This will provide the document "House Report 110-597 – PUERTO RICO DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2007", then from the Table of Contents choose "BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION".]). Another misconception is that the import/export taxes collected by the U.S. on products manufactured in Puerto Rico are all returned to the Puerto Rico Treasury. This is not the case. Such import/export taxes are returned only for rum products, and even then the US Treasury keeps a portion of those taxes (See the "House Report 110-597 – PUERTO RICO DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2007" mentioned above.)
  2. ↑ Who will determine Puerto Rico’s future status?: Roberto Barreto examines Washington's shifting debate on Puerto Rico's status. Roberto Barreto. International Socialist Review. ISR Issue 55, September–October 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  3. ↑ 2005 President's Task Force. Page 4.
  4. ↑ Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission: Official Results for the 1967 Political-Status Plebiscite. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  5. ↑ Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission: Official Results for the 1993 Political-Status Plebiscite. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  6. ↑ 2005 President's Task Force. Page 4. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission: Official Results for the 1998 Political-Status Plebiscite. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  8. 1 2 "Resultados Elecciones Generales 2012 - Noche del Evento". Comision Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress. Report RL32933. By Keith Bea and R. Sam Garrett, Government and Finance Division. Congressional Research Service. Updated May 29, 2008. Page 32. Appendix B: Puerto Rico Status Votes in Plebiscites and Referenda, 1967–1998. (A WikiLeaks Document Release. At: http://wikileaks.org/wiki/CRS-RL32933. Dated February 2, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2009. Archived February 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress. Report RL32933. By Keith Bea and R. Sam Garrett, Congressional Research Service. Dated June 19, 2009. Page 29. Table B-1: Puerto Rico Status Votes in Plebiscites and Referenda, 1967–1998. Page 29. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  11. ↑ El Archivo de las Elecciones en Puerto Rico: Escrutinio del Referéndum del 8 de diciembre de 1991. Reclamación de Derechos Democráticos. (In Spanish) Elecciones en Puerto Rico. By Manuel Álvarez Rivera. Claim to Democratic Rights. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  12. 1 2 Political Status of Puerto Rico: Options for Congress. page 18.
  13. ↑ Elections in Puerto Rico: 1993 Status Plebiscite Results.
  14. ↑ Elections in Puerto Rico: 1998 Status Plebiscite Results.
  15. ↑ For complete statistics of these plebiscites, see Elections in Puerto Rico:Results.
  16. ↑ Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission: Official Results for the 1998 Political-Status Plebiscite
  17. ↑ Fortuño calls for status vote next August. John Marino. Caribbean Business. Released on October 4, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  18. ↑ Ley Numero 283 del 28 de diciembre de 2011. Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico. December 28, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  19. ↑ CONDICIÓN POLÍTICA TERRITORIAL ACTUAL (English:Actual Territorial Political Condition). Government of Puerto Rico. State Electoral Commission. Nov 16 2012 9:59PM. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  20. ↑ OPCIONES NO TERRITORIALES. (English: Non-Territorial Options). Government of Puerto Rico. State Electoral Commission. Nov 16 2012 9:59PM. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  21. ↑ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-113shrg82719/html/CHRG-113shrg82719.htm retrieved 17 August 2014.
  22. ↑ retrieved 17 August 2014.
  23. ↑ The Senate and the House of Representative of Puerto Rico: Concurrent Resolution. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  24. ↑ Puerto Rico votes on US ties and chooses governor. Associated Press via MSNBC News. Accessed 7 November 2012.
  25. ↑ White House clarifies status stance.. Caribbean Business. December 4, 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "President Proposes Plebiscite to Affirm Puerto Rico’s Status Choice," Puerto Rico Report. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  27. ↑ Puerto Rico Senate. Concurrent Senate Resolution Number 24. May 8, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Pierluisi Introduces Historic Legislation," Puerto Rico Report. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  29. ↑ Let Puerto Rico Decide: An Introduction to Puerto Rico's Status Debate.
  30. ↑ For the complete statistics regarding these plebiscites please refer to Elections in Puerto Rico: Results..
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