2024 Puerto Rican status referendum

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2024 Puerto Rican status referendum
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg
November 5, 2024 (2024-11-05)
Results
Statehood
 
58.61%
Free association
 
29.57%
Independence
 
11.82%
Puerto Rico Referendum Municipalities 2024.svg
Results by municipality
Statehood:      60–70%     50–60%     40–50%

A non-binding status referendum was held in Puerto Rico on November 5, 2024 alongside the general elections. This was the seventh referendum held on the long-standing debate about the political status of the island, with the previous one having taken place in 2020.

Contents

Puerto Rican voters were presented with three choices regarding the political status of Puerto Rico: statehood, independence, and free association. This was the first time that maintaining the island's current status as a United States territory was not an option. This decision was cited by the Popular Democratic Party, the Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana, and the Puerto Rican Independence Party to denounce the referendum and call for either a boycott or for voters to spoil their ballots. However, Puerto Rico's governing New Progressive Party praised the island's vote for statehood, in which over half of the electorate cast a vote.

The option for statehood achieved a majority of the vote with 620,782 votes, followed by free association with 313,259 votes, and independence with 125,171 votes. An additional 204,341 ballots were either blank or invalid. [1] [2] The results for free association and independence were initially erroneously interchanged before the error was corrected. [3] [4]

Background

In the 2020 Puerto Rican status referendum the option to pursue statehood won the referendum 52.52%–47.48%. [5]

In 2022, the United States House of Representatives passed the Puerto Rico Status Act. It did not pass the United States Senate. [6]

In August 2024, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court dismissed the July 2024 petition by the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) asking the State Election Commission (CEE) to halt the status referendum. [7] [8]

In September 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction, as well as a declaratory judgment, allowing potential voters to register, through October 6. [9] On October 1, the High Court of Puerto Rico dismissed the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The Court declines to intervene in Puerto Rico's electoral processes or grant the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has failed to demonstrate that the September 21 voter registration deadline constitutes an unconstitutional disenfranchisement, or a manifest injustice, that justifies the intrusion of the United States federal government, into the election administration of the State of Puerto Rico. [10]

On November 21, 2024, former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, José Aponte, asked the State Electoral Commission (CEE), to count all the ballots of the plebiscite on the status, that were not counted on the day of the general election, including the ones voted by mail. [11] The Popular Democratic Party (PPD) warns of going to court if the State Electoral Commission (CEE) decides to recount the plebiscite vote on the status of Puerto Rico. [12]

In December 2024, the representative by accumulation, José Pérez Cordero, goes to the United States Congress to promote the results of the consultation on the status, where the quality of state prevailed with a majority of 57 percent of the votes. [13]

The results for the options of free association and independence were initially erroneously interchanged by Dominion Voting Systems machines. [3] [4] On December 27, 2024, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice received a complaint regarding allegations of irregularities in the results of the plebiscite, the Department of Justice is seizing the complaint, to determine the opening of an investigation into the irregularities, during the plebiscite. [14]

Campaign

New Progressive Party (PNP) gubernatorial candidate Jenniffer González-Colón called a blank vote a "wasted vote" emphasizing the importance of the vote. [15] The pro-statehood Republican Party of Puerto Rico supports the referendum. [16]

The Popular Democratic Party called for a blank vote for not including Commonwealth or the current system. [17] Gubernatorial candidate of Proyecto Dignidad Javier Jiménez announced that he will not vote but granted their members free vote. [18] Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana called to "damage" their referendum and presidential ballots and their resident commissioner candidate Ana Irma Rivera Lassén announced that she will write "Get out LUMA" on both. [19] The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) denounced the referendum as "unconstitutional and illegal" and "a desperate act by the PNP leadership". [20]

Question

The referendum featured three choices in the following order: independence with free association; statehood; and independence. [21] It was the first time the island's current status as a U.S. territory was not an option. [22] Note that free association was an option on some older referendums also, and the structure of voting options has varied over time.

Opinion polls

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		StatehoodFree associationIndependenceOther/undecided
El Nuevo Día [23] October 2024——44%25%19%12% [b]
Gaither International [24] 12 July–1 August 20241,138 (A)—45%23%11%21%
AtlasIntel [25] 15–22 February 20242,200 (V)± 2.0%47.2%23.3%11.4%18.1%

Results

According to the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections (CEE), 58.6% voted for statehood, 29.6% for free association, and 11.8% for independence. [2] [26] The commission certified these results as the final and official of the plebiscite on January 17, 2025. [1] [27]

The results for the options of free association and independence were initially erroneously interchanged by Dominion Voting Systems machines. [3] [4]

ChoiceVotes%
Statehood620,78258.61
Free Association313,25929.57
Independence125,17111.82
Total1,059,212100.00
Valid votes1,059,21283.83
Invalid votes23,1411.83
Blank votes181,20014.34
Total votes1,263,553100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,987,31763.58
Source: CEEPUR

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ↑ Blank ballot with 8%, undecided with 3%, would not vote with 1%

References

  1. 1 2 "FINAL RESULTS ON PLEBISCITE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2024" (PDF). Puerto Rico State Elections Commission. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. 1 2 "CEE Event". elecciones2024.ceepur.org. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Comisionados electorales y la presidenta de la CEE arremeten contra Dominion por error en la contabilización de los votos del plebiscito". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). December 27, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Más errores de Dominion: confirma que hubo resultados invertidos en plebiscito". Noticel. December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Plebiscito Resulatados Isal" [Island Plesbiscite Results]. Comisión Estatal de Elecciones[ Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections ] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  6. ↑ Kohli, Anisha (December 17, 2022). "Puerto Rico Independence Bill Passes in the House". TIME. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Supremo le dice que no a petición del PIP para detener impresión de papeletas". Metro.pr (in Spanish). August 27, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Tribunal Supremo desestima demanda del PIP para invalidar el plebiscito criollo". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). August 28, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  9. ↑ Figueroa Cancel, Alex (September 23, 2024). "La ACLU radica demanda federal para que el cierre del periodo de inscripción en el registro electoral sea en octubre". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ Torres Nieves, Valéria María (October 1, 2024). "Tribunal Federal desestima demanda de la ACLU para reabrir el registro electoral". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ "They demand that the President of the CEE count all the ballots of the consultation on the status". notiuno.com (in Spanish). November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Al tribunal el PPD si la CEE decide volver a contar papeleta presidencial y del plebiscito". periodicolaperla.com (in Spanish). November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Entregarán resultados del plebiscito a Congresistas". notiuno.com (in Spanish). December 16, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Justicia investigará denuncias por presuntas irregularidades con votos del plebiscito". noticel.com (in Spanish). December 27, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  15. ↑ Diaz Tirado, Adriana (July 4, 2024). ""Una papeleta en blanco es un voto perdido": Jenniffer González defiende el plebiscito "criollo" en ceremonia del 4 de julio" . El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  16. ↑ Delgado, José A. (July 16, 2024). "Republicanos de la isla harían campaña por Donald Trump si se mantiene la votación presidencial simbólica de Puerto Rico" . El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  17. ↑ Acevedo Irizarry, Marielis (July 27, 2024). "Partido Demócrata en Puerto Rico hará campaña para que boricuas voten por Kamala Harris en cuarta papeleta el 5 de noviembre". El Diario La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  18. ↑ "Javier Jiménez no votará en el nuevo plebiscito". NotiCel (in Spanish). July 3, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Decisión 2024: MVC insta a "dañar" la papeleta del plebiscito y la de presidencia". WAPA-TV (in Spanish). September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Al Tribunal Supremo el PIP para impugnar plebiscito". Microjuris  [ es ] (in Spanish). July 12, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Puerto Rico finalizes details of upcoming referendum on political status amid criticism over cost". AP News. July 24, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Puerto Rico will include status plebiscite in November's general elections". AP News. July 1, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  23. ↑ "En el plebiscito de la prensa colonial se muestra la fuerza de las opciones soberanista e independentistas: 44%". La Casa Editora (in Spanish). October 11, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Puerto Rico Political Landscape" (PDF). Puerto Rico 51st. Gaither International. p. 24. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Encuesta Atlas - Puerto Rico - Elecciones 2024" (PDF). AtlasIntel (in Spanish). Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  26. ↑ Molina, Daniel (November 7, 2024). "Puerto Rico Voted for Statehood, What Happens Next?". The Floridian. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  27. ↑ "CEE certifica a la estadidad como la fórmula ganadora del plebiscito". Primera Hora (in Spanish). January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
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