The Young Democrats of America have added a plank to their platform:
Recognizing the will of the people of Puerto Rico, as expressed in official referenda, to reject the current territorial relationship to which the island has been subjected to, we support the full admission of Puerto Rico as a state of our union. -YDA National Platform 2015
The Young Democrats of America in the past have supported platforms including statehood for Puerto Rico, and this new resolution, resulting from their bi-annual convention, confirms that position. This is the first time that the organization has recognized the results of the November 2012 plebiscite.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties have supported Puerto Rico’s right to a permanent resolution of the Island’s political status.
The Democratic Party Platform:
If local efforts in Puerto Rico to resolve the status issue do not provide a clear result in the short term, the President should support, and Congress should enact, self-executing legislation that specifies in advance for the people of Puerto Rico a set of clear status options…
The Republican Party platform:
We support the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state if they freely so determine. We recognize that Congress has the final authority to define the constitutionally valid options for Puerto Rico to achieve a permanent non-territorial status with government by consent and full enfranchisement.
The Young Democrats are taking a bold position by recognizing that Puerto Rico has already voted for statehood.
Puerto Rico, like 49 of the States, has a local chapter of the Young Democrats.
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