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posted by n1 on Monday June 12 2017, @09:49AM   Printer-friendly
from the join-the-club dept.

According to Fox News:

Puerto Rico's governor announced that the U.S. territory has overwhelmingly chosen statehood in a nonbinding referendum Sunday held amid a deep economic crisis that has sparked an exodus of islanders to the U.S. mainland.

Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, more than 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for independence, according to preliminary results. The participation rate was just 23 percent with roughly 2.26 million registered voters, leading opponents to question the validity of a vote that several parties had boycotted.

Also covered by AP.


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  • (Score: 2) by ese002 on Monday June 12 2017, @10:35PM

    by ese002 (5306) on Monday June 12 2017, @10:35PM (#524694)

    This is the other problem. The referendum is non-binding thus many will not take it seriously, leading to the poor turnout.

    IMHO, what should be done is that Congress should approve Puerto Rican statehood under the condition that another referendum passes.

    This referendum would be binding and irrevocable. Congress has already approved so if it passes, the deal is done. Congress could even include a extra conditions like a 2/3 majority and minimum participation rate of eligible voters. This should put an end to any ambiguities.

    Of course the odds of anything so clear and reasonable coming out of this Congress are about nil.

    Tangentially, I think choosing statehood just so PR can declare bankruptcy is a bit ridiculous even if congressional meddling is partly responsible for the situation.

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