On November 5. 2024, alongside the general elections, there will be a seventh status vote. Puerto Rico voters will have the opportunity to tell Congress once again that they are not willing to continue in the current colonial relationship with the United States. A random drawing has determined that the three status options will be in this order on the ballot:
- independence with free association
- statehood
- independence
A strong showing in the plebiscite will help prove to Congress that Puerto Rico is ready for the rights and responsibilities of statehood.
How to vote
In order to vote in the plebiscite, you must be registered to vote in Puerto Rico. Use the link below to register.
Then make a plan. Choosing a time to go to the polls, arranging transportation, and finding buddies to go with can all help make sure you and your friends and family get to vote.
Once you have a plan and the people closest to you are taken care of, consider looking a little farther afield.
Is there someone you know who might need practical help in order to vote? Caring for a child, giving someone a ride, answering questions on the issues — there might be some small action you can take that will make a difference.
If you live in a state or another territory, not in Puerto Rico, we still encourage you to register to vote. You won’t be able to vote in the plebiscite, but you will be able to vote for your elected representatives in Congress and — if you live in a state — for the President of the United States.
- Find the site to register to vote in any state or territory.
- Make sure you are registered to vote.
Why to vote
Some voters feel that their votes in the referendum will not make a difference. We’ve held multiple status votes and the last three have shown that statehood is what Puerto Rico wants. We still have not been admitted as a state. Does it matter if you vote?
Yes, it does. Congress can admit Puerto Rico as a state at any time with a simple majority. That’s how 32 territories have already been admitted as states of the Union. But Congress must take action. Puerto Rico has no voting members in Congress, and no senators at all. Representatives in Congress are thinking about their own constituents in their home states. Their minds are on many different issues, including their desires to be reelected and to have their party’s presidential candidate be elected. We need to get their attention. Another status vote will help us do that.
George Laws Garcia, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council, said it like this: “The decision to hold this vote shows the pressing need to continue offering voters of all political ideologies in Puerto Rico a means to express their desire to end the island’s current territorial status and to put pressure on Congress to take action.”
Governor Pierluisi said, “Puerto Rico has the right, and I would say the moral obligation, to continue to exert pressure, reiterating its right to self-determination and demanding that Congress respond satisfactorily to the will of our people. Therefore, as many times as we have to vote to end the colony, we must do so.”
Another decisive win for statehood will move us closer to the eventual goal. If you live in Puerto Rico, please do your part to get good turnout for the November vote!
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