Puerto Rico’s Plebiscites

Since 1967, seven votes have been held in Puerto Rico asking people what type of relationship they would like for Puerto Rico to have with the United States. This relationship is commonly called Puerto Rico’s “political status.”

The seven referenda on Puerto Rico’s political status –  referred to as plebiscites – were held in 1967, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024.

Today Puerto Rico remains a territory of the United States. Under the U.S. Constitution, there are two other options for Puerto Rico’s political status:  Puerto Rico could become a State of the Union, as Hawaii did in 1959, or a sovereign independent nation like the Philippines did in 1946.

Congress has the power to end Puerto Rico’s territorial status by simply enacting a law to do so.

Members of Congress, however, typically first want to know how Puerto Ricans feel about their status options.

That’s where the plebiscites come in.

Plebiscite results

Debates over Puerto Rico’s political status typically focus on which status options to include on a plebiscite ballot and how to define those options. Every ballot has looked different. The chart below summarizes support for each option offered in the seven different plebiscites.

Ballot options can be tricky. The “commonwealth” option has not been consistently defined. In 1998 and 2017, “commonwealth” meant retaining Puerto Rico’s current status as a U.S. territory; in 1967 and 1993 the “commonwealth” option offered to voters sought to cover varying packages of more expansive rights for Puerto Rico.

Other ballot options have different complications, often premised on the the fate of U.S. citizenship in a future Puerto Rico.

The Options: Independence

Independence has never received much support in Puerto Rico plebiscite votes.

Many Puerto Rican voters are concerned about losing their U.S. citizenship if Puerto Rico ends its status as a U.S. territory and becomes an independent nation.

Some Puerto Rican voters have been said to vote for independence with the expectation that they would be able to keep their U.S. citizenship even as a foreign country, and this false hope may be inflating even the current small support for independence.

U.S. government officials and legal scholars have been clear over many decades that citizenship could not continue in a new foreign country of Puerto Rico. The people of Puerto Rico were granted U.S. citizenship in a 1917 federal law. In the 50 states, people are guaranteed U.S. citizenship under the U.S. Constitution upon birth. This Constitutional guarantee is more secure than U.S. citizenship provided through a basic federal law, as laws can and do change.

What Will Happen to U.S. Citizenship in a New Nation of Puerto Rico? The Word from Washington

The Options: Independence with free association

As a sovereign independent nation, Puerto Rico could have bilateral treaties with the U.S.

There are three sparsely populated island countries in the Pacific Ocean that have relinquished control over their military and national security to the U.S. in rough exchange for their citizens to be able to work and travel to the U.S. without a visa. These bilateral treaties, which can be ended by either side, are referred to as compacts of free association (COFAs).

No current compact of free association includes U.S. citizenship, and Washington has been clear that it cannot guarantee U.S. citizenship to a sovereign nation of Puerto Rico.

In addition, Congress has, at times, even enacted laws that take away social and economic benefits provided for COFA citizens in the bilateral compacts, apparent oversights that have taken decades to correct.

Free association is inherently independence. At their core, both options involve sovereignty for Puerto Rico.

The 2017 plebiscite ballot presented free association and independence together as one option, consistent with guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 2024, the sovereign free association option garnered 31% of the vote. This increase may reflect the mistaken belief that U.S. citizenship would be secured for any length of time under this arrangement. There is no such guarantee. Of the options provided on the 2024 plebiscite, U.S. citizenship would be “recognized, protected, and secured” only under statehood.

The Options: Statehood

The four most recent votes – in 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024 – resulted in statehood as the top choice. Each vote was certified by the Puerto Rico State Election Commission.

The popularity of statehood lies, at least in part, in the fact that U.S. citizenship under statehood is secured through the U.S. Constitution.

Today, roughly six million people of Puerto Rican descent live stateside while only three million live in Puerto Rico. It is often said that Puerto Ricans have voted for statehood with their feet.

The Options: Commonwealth

Commonwealth has been the historical stumbling block for the resolution of Puerto Rico’s status. The term “commonwealth” means different things to different people, and it is constantly changing.

The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is informally called a “Commonwealth.” This title is taken from Puerto Rico’s 1952 Constitution, which is called  “The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” in English.

But “commonwealth” has a second definition. When the term “commonwealth” is included on a plebiscite ballot it can also represent an enhanced or developed “commonwealth” – a changing aspirational arrangement in which Puerto Rico attains varying powers of a foreign nation while simultaneously gaining the protections and benefits of statehood.

In 2011, Congress’s official nonpartisan research resource – the Congressional Research Service (CRS) – made this point in a chart describing Puerto Rico’s plebiscite history by adding footnotes to describe the variations of “commonwealth” options that had been included on ballots over the years.

Some U.S. Senators have referred to “commonwealth” as “the free beer and barbecue option.” Former Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY) called “commonwealth” a “letter to the Three Kings or a letter to Santa Claus.”

Leading up to the 2017 vote, the Department of Justice cautioned the Puerto Rican government that its lawyers had “rejected as unconstitutional previous ‘enhanced Commonwealth’ proposals[.]” Members of Congress and U.S. Presidents of both major national political parties have been clear over decades that an “enhanced” or “developed” commonwealth has no place on a plebiscite ballot.

Puerto Rico’s Plebiscite History – Confusion over “Commonwealth”

Updated on March 14, 2026