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04/12/2013 | Filed under: Estadidad,Status | Posted by: Francisco

Puerto Rico Status Vote Proposed By White House

The Huffington Post | By Roque PlanasPosted: 04/10/2013 7:39 pm EDT | Updated: 04/11/2013 2:15 pm EDT

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Puerto Rico may be getting another status vote.

The White House budget submitted to Congress Wednesday includes a $2.5 million appropriation for Puerto Rico to hold another plebiscite on its relationship to the United States.

Calling for another vote indicates the Obama administration has rejected the argument that Puerto Ricans voted to become the 51st state in a two-part referendum held in November. But the proposal also recognizes that a majority of Puerto Ricans aren’t happy with their current commonwealth status.

Puerto Rico’s lone, non-voting Congressman, Representative Pedro Pierlusi, a statehood supporter, applauded the proposal:

Today is an historic day for all of us who have been fighting for equality and justice for Puerto Rico. The White House has recognized that, on November 6, 2012, a majority of the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico withdrew their consent to the current territory status, which deprives them of the most fundamental democratic rights.

A two-part referendum on Puerto Rico’s status in November left many wondering whether the island had voted to become a U.S. state.

The first question asked whether voters wanted to keep the island’s current U.S. commonwealth status. A majority of voters — 52 percent — said they were dissatisfied with the current relationship.

Then the referendum asked if voters wanted to become a U.S. state, an independent country, or a freely associated state — a type of independence in close alliance with the United States. About 61 percent of those who answered the second question chose statehood.

But that 61 percent wasn’t a majority. More than 470,000 voters intentionally left the second question blank, leaving statehood with only about 45 percent of the total votes cast.

The White House had previously sent contradictory messages about the referendum. Luis Miranda, the White House’s Hispanic Affairs spokesman told Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Día in December that the referendum amounted to a mandate for statehood, just hours after White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the vote result was unclear.

Here’s the full statement on the proposed Puerto Rico status vote from the White House budget, via Pierlusi:

$2,500,000 for objective, nonpartisan voter education about, and a plebiscite on, options that would resolve Puerto Rico’s future political status, which shall be provided to the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico: Provided, That funds provided for the plebiscite under the previous proviso shall not be obligated until 45 days after the Attorney General notifies the Committees on Appropriations that he approves of an expenditure plan from the Commission for voter education and plebiscite administration, including approval of the plebiscite ballot; Provided further, That the notification shall include a finding that the voter education materials, plebiscite ballot, and related materials are not incompatible with the Constitution and laws and policies of the United States.

Puerto Rico Status: White House Gives Mixed Signals On Statehood

The Huffington Post | By Roque PlanasPosted: 12/04/2012 1:08 pm EST | Updated: 12/04/2012 2:21 pm EST

Video, Latino Politics, Puerto Rico White House, Puerto Rico State, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Statehood, Puerto Rico Status, Latino Voices News

The White House is sending mixed messages about whether it thinks Puerto Rico’s status vote should pave the way for Congress to consider making the island a U.S. state.

After three weeks of silence, representatives of the White House have weighed in three times over the last week on Puerto Rico’s status, giving different statements each time about whether a November vote on the island’s status amounted to a mandate for statehood.

Luis Miranda, the White House’s Hispanic Affairs spokesman, told Puerto Rico’s El Nuevo Día on Monday that the Obama administration thinks a majority of Puerto Ricans voted for statehood.

“The results were clear,” Miranda said, according to El Nuevo Día. “The people of Puerto Rico want the status issue resolved and a majority favored statehood in the second question.”

Miranda’s comments came just hours after White House press secretary Jay Carney said the vote result was unclear.

“The people of Puerto Rico have made it clear that they want a resolution to the issue of the island’s political status,” Carney told reporters, according to Politico. “Congress should now study the results closely and provide the people of Puerto Rico with a clear path forward that lays out the means by which Puerto Ricans themselves can determine their own status.”

That’s the same situation Puerto Rico’s been in for over half a century, after four referendums since 1950 that have yet to show a majority of voters favor a change in the island’s status.

Both comments diverged from the more diplomatic statement issued by the White House’s inter-agency group on Puerto Rico’s status, first reported Saturday by El Nuevo Día. The group’s co-presidents David Agnew and Tony West said they recognized Puerto Ricans are dissatisfied with commonwealth status and would work with Congress on the issue, without taking a position on whether the November non-binding referendum tilted toward statehood.

http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/509a8e5002a7605945000385

In a two-part referendum, Puerto Ricans were first asked whether they wanted to maintain their current relationship with the United States. Some 52 percent of voters said they did not. The second question asked whether Puerto Ricans wanted the island to become a state, an independent country or a freely associated state — but not whether they wanted to remain a commonwealth. Only 45 percent of voters supported statehood, but over 480,000 voters refused to answer the question. Of those who chose to answer the question, 62 percent favored statehood.

Supporters of statehood, like outgoing Gov. Luis Fortuño, have latched on to the 62 percent figure, hoping to push their case before Congress. But the more modest 45 percent figure is consistent with the results of three other referendums since 1950 and months of polling leading up to the vote.

JJ Rivera

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/10/us-seeks-to-fund-new-plebiscite-to-determine-future-puerto-rico-political/

US seeks to fund new plebiscite to determine future of Puerto Rico’s political status

www.foxnews.com

The future of Puerto Rico’s political status is up for debate again after officials announced Wednesday that the White

US seeks to fund new plebiscite to determine future of Puerto Rico’s political status

Published April 10, 2013 Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The White House is seeking $2.5 million to fund a status vote for the first time in Puerto Rico’s history.

The money would go to the local elections commission for an education campaign and a plebiscite to resolve the island’s political status, with the U.S. Attorney General having to approve the ballot beforehand.

Wednesday’s announcement comes five months after Puerto Rico issued a two-part referendum whose results are still being debated. In the first question, 54 percent of voters said they were not content with the commonwealth status.

The second question asked voters to choose a status. Of the approximately 1.3 million voters who made a choice, nearly 800,000 supported statehood. Some 437,000 backed sovereign free association and 72,560 chose independence. However, nearly 500,000 left that question blank.