President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced their hopes and plans for Puerto Rico well before the election in “The Biden-Harris Plan for Recovery, Renewal, and Respect for Puerto Rico.” The plan begins with this statement: “Joe Biden believes that Puerto Rico, and the more than 3 million American citizens who call it… Read more »
The day after Puerto Rico’s plebiscite, Columbia University constitutional law expert Christina D. Ponsa-Kraus published an op-ed in The New York Times analzing the vote for statehood and urging Congress to respect and follow through on the electoration results. “[S]tatehood opponents will start throwing up roadblocks,” she wrote. “Some will say that the ballot language… Read more »
With more than 95% of votes counted, Puerto Rico voters have chosen statehood in yesterday’s plebiscite vote. The ballot question was, “Should Puerto Rico be immediately admitted into the Union as a state?” Voters had two straightforward options in response: “Yes” and “No.” 592,242 voters (52.19%) chose “Yes.” “No” votes totaled 542,634 (47.81% of the… Read more »
In an interview with Puerto Rico news source El Nuevo Día, vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris said, “Like Joe Biden, I believe that we cannot wait any longer to address the unequal treatment of American citizens living on the island. The reason I strongly support the people of Puerto Rico is simple: I strongly support… Read more »
The Democratic Party of Puerto Rico has passed a resolution supporting the validity of the upcoming status vote “as a legitimate and valid democratic method for exercising the right to self-determination of the American citizens of Puerto Rico.” The resolution also calls on Puerto Rico voters to choose “Yes” in the vote on the question,… Read more »
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, has written a letter to Natalie Jaresko, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB), asking for an investigation into alleged insider trading among creditors. Chairman Girjalva was joined by fellow Members of Congress José… Read more »
In a recently released Facebook video, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) urges Puerto Ricans to “make history” by voting in the upcoming plebiscite: “This November you will have the opportunity to make history,” said Senator Rubio. “You will make clear, for the first time in more than 100 years, if the majority of voters in… Read more »
Congressman José E. Serrano (D-NY), who is retiring for health reasons, recently sent a message to his colleagues in Congress. “Dear Colleague,” he wrote, “As many of you know, I have spent my career in Congress fighting for fairness and equality for Puerto Rico, the island of my birth. I strongly believe that the most… Read more »
As we prepare for this year’s election, voting rights are on the minds of many. One of the most important recent speeches on voting rights was this very brief one from the late Representative John Lewis. Rep. Lewis spoke in Congress in support of HR 1, the For the People Act. “The right to vote… Read more »
College students often move from their home state to a new state when they start school. When election time comes around, they can usually register to vote in the State where they are at the time, or they can vote with an absentee ballot in their home state. For many, the decision is based on… Read more »
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