Puerto Rico in favor of statehood

Slightly more than half the voters in the U.S. territory said yes in response to the question: “Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the union as a state?” The referendum registered more than 52 percent support on Wednesday with more than 95 percent of the votes counted. The island also faced a tight race for governor, with New Progressive and pro-statehood candidate Pedro Pierluisi holding a 12,000-vote lead over Popular Democratic Party candidate Carlos Delgado.

Are there 51 states now? No. The referendum was nonbinding, and Congress must approve any changes to Puerto Rico’s political status. The territory has voted on statehood several times before, to mixed results. Congress has each time declined to make any changes. Statehood would give Puerto Rico votes in Congress, where it currently has only a non-voting delegate, and electors in the Electoral College.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew about the island’s battle for recovery funds after Hurricane Maria and the devastating earthquakes at the beginning of 2020.