Blank Ballots, None of the Above and other Colonial Goblins

02/05/2013 | Filed under: Estadidad,Status | Posted by: Francisco

Blank Ballots, None of the Above and other Colonial Goblins

Many Congressmen are trying to figure out what do the results of the Puerto Rico November 6, 2012 status plebiscite mean, how should they react to it, and what should they do about it moving forward.

The reason for some of this intentionally created confusion can be easily explained. There are certain status quo forces in PR that want to derail all status referendums undertaken in PR in order to maintain the territorial (some argue colonial) status of PR. These “Status Quo” forces always devise some sort of voting strategy to later argue that the PR status plebiscite was not valid, did not obtain a majority vote, was not binding or other similar argument.

Let’s explain first what are the constitutionally and legally accepted options for Puerto Rico’s future if Puerto Ricans decide to terminate the current territorial relationship with its Nation. Pursuant to the Bush 2007 White House Task Force Report on PR and the Obama 2011 White House Task Force Report on PR, there are only three (3) constitutionally valid status options for PR if PR decides to end its territorial status. There is the Statehood option (becoming State 51), the independence option (becoming an independent republic like Dominican Republic or Cuba), and the FreeAssociated State option (becoming an independent sovereign country but associated with the U.S. in several functions).

So if the PR status options are so clear, why is there always a controversy on the PR status plebiscite options? The problem is that the “Status Quo” forces allege that the White House Task Force Reports on PR are incorrect because there is a fourth status option for PR that they claim is also constitutionally valid. Let’s call this 4^thoption the “Fantasy Island” option. The Status Quo forces complain that the 4^th option never gets included in the PR status plebiscites and that, therefore, they will not vote for any of the three valid status options presented by the White House (under Bush and Obama). The problem is that this 4^th option is not a real status option that the US can legally provide to PR and its only reason for existence is to stall the PR plebiscites that contain the only three genuine and valid status options.

In 1998, as part of the Status Quo strategy, the Status Quo advocates requested that the 1998 PR status plebiscite include a “None of the Above” selection in the ballot and that such selection be tallied in the final votes. Similarly, for the 2012 PR status plebiscite, as part of the Status Quo strategy, the status quo advocates requested their followers to cast blank ballots as a sign of protest. They followed this “blank ballot” strategy in 2012 because the plebiscite ballots did not contain a “None of the Above” selection. The problem with the 2012 Status Quo strategy is that PR law is clear that blank ballots are invalid and cannot be tallied for a voting majority calculation. Even SCOTUS made it clear in a 2000 decision that blank ballots do not count if the applicable voting statute is clear about the validity of such ballots. Therefore, if we follow the rule of law in interpreting the 2012 plebiscite, statehood clearly won by a majority vote of 61%.

Congress should ask itself, are we a Nation that believes and follows the Rule of Law or are we a Nation that follows the Rule of Law “most of the time”? Puerto Rico is not a banana republic, it is not Cuba, it is not and Island in the Pacific. Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island with 3.7 millionU.S. citizens.

Congress should not be tricked by the Status Quo forces in PR and their deceptive tactics of “None of the Above” votes and blank ballots. There are only three constitutional status options for PR. There is no “FantasyIsland” status option for PR and Ricardo Montalban and Tattoo are not in PR waiting to fulfill all the Puerto Rican political status fantasies.

In the 2012 status plebiscite Puerto Ricans decided to terminate the territorial condition by a majority vote of 54%. Moreover, Puerto Ricans voters, when presented with the three valid status options, decided for statehood under a 61% majority vote. Congress should follow the Rule of Law and the U.S. Constitution and not get fooled by colonial goblins. Congress should act upon the 61% majority vote for statehood and immediately enact a Statehood Admissions Act for Puerto Rico.

Frank Rullan, Esq.