Jesús Manuel Ortiz, the “commonwealth” party’s candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico, has called for a boycott of the status referendum which will be held along with the governor’s race in November. He has asked his supporters to leave the status question blank in order to show how unnecessary the referendum is.
Boycotting the votes
First, let’s recognize that nobody calls for a boycott of a vote they can win. Nonetheless, past boycotts of Puerto Rico’s status votes have resulted in effective election denial. Whereas U.S. elections only count the votes of people who voted, not taking into account any blank votes, opposition parties have managed to play their election boycotts into an appearance of confusion and uncertainty.
Why call for a boycott?
The November referendum uses the viable non-territorial options of statehood, independence, and free association. It does not include the mythical “enhanced commonwealth.” It also does not include the current territorial status.
The “commonwealth” party continues to demand the inclusion of the “commonwealth” status on status ballots. Without having that option, they hope to persuade voters to use blank votes as a sort of write-in vote for commonwealth.
Of course, there are many reasons that someone might leave a question blank on a ballot or miss a vote entirely, but the “commonwealth” party has claimed that all blank votes as well as all registered voters who choose not to vote — all are actually voting for commonwealth.
Why not put commonwealth on the ballot?
Puerto Rico has the word “commonwealth” in its official title, just as Kentucky and Massachusetts do. Just as Kentucky and Massachusetts are states like all other states, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory just like all other unincorporated territories.
Since the 1950s, there has been an idea that the current political status could evolve into a unique political relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico. This relationship, which would be called “enhanced commonwealth,” would include guaranteed U.S. citizenship, the ability to pick nd choose which federal laws to follow, and otters special privileges. The United States has never agreed to this and all three branches of the federal government have stated that a relationship of this kind would not be possible under the U.S. Constitution.
Therefore, if such a fantasy option were on the ballot and the majority voted for it, it still could not exist. Including an impossible choice on the ballot would be deceptive and pointless. It gives false hope for an impossible outcome.
Get out the vote
Polls and previous votes have shown that statehood is the majority position in Puerto Rico today. But we have seen that the election boycotts muddy the waters and give Congress an excuse to ignore the status votes. The November referendum will not be binding on Congress, but it will send a message. It can be a demand for statehood.
To achieve this, we must get out the vote. Are you registered? Do you have a plan for when to go to your polling place and how to get there? What about your friends and family in Puerto Rico? Share this reminder!
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