In 2012, Puerto Rican voters chose statehood. Both the election officials in Puerto Rico and the White House confirmed the vote. The next step was for Congress to take action to create the state of Puerto Rico.
This did not happen.
Why not? Partly, it was the refusal of the current pro-Commonwealth government in Puerto Rico to honor the vote. But there is also a lack of strong leadership on this subject in the U.S. Congress. A few representatives have stepped up, but there is a sense that Puerto Rico is not a subject that wins votes.
That’s not what was found by a national research firm that undertook a study of Puerto Rican voters in Central Florida. This growing group of voters is increasingly seen as an important voting population in Florida. Once concentrated in Orlando, Puerto Rican voters now are an important part of the voting population in Tampa and in the counties along I-4 between Tampa and Orlando. These voters told researchers that they care quite a lot about Puerto Rico’s status.
When asked, “How important is it to you that Congress and the President move to resolve the status of Puerto Rico?” these voters responded with a clear majority:
- Extremely important- 37
- Very important- 39
- Somewhat important- 9
- Not very important- 9
- Not at all important- 2
Asked to say how likely they would be to vote for people holding various positions on this question, voters said by overwhelming margins that they would vote for people holding these positions:
- Someone who wants Congress to resolve the status of Puerto Rico
- Someone who supports a binding statehood bill for Puerto Rico
- Someone who wants Congress to authorize a vote by Puerto Ricans on status resolution
- Someone who wants Puerto Rico to become the 51st state so Congress will have 2 Puerto Rican Senators and 5 Puerto Rican Members of the House of Representatives
In short, these U.S. voters care about the status of Puerto Rico.
Voter Consumer Research surveying FL I-4 Hispanics of Puerto Rican Origin, Dates: 8/20-9/4/2014
400 Interviews / MoE +/- 4.9%
This post was originally written in English and may be being auto-translated by Google.
2 Responses
As Puerto Rican living in Central Florida, we ask the corresponding authorities to take action on the status of Puerto Rico. Majority of Puerto Rican living in United States wants statehood for the island. We want that our people in Puerto Rico to have the same rights that those living in all the others fifty states.
Yes should and pay taxes just like we. Here in us and Puerto Rico
And do better for them self and there family.