State 51 – Puerto Rico

There are so many news articles going around about Donald Trump and what he did or did not do with the Russian Government that this is the first I’ve heard of Puerto Rico actively trying to move from its territory status to become the 51st state of the United States of America.

Less than 70% of people that are register to vote actually voted, but 97% of the people that voted chose statehood.  You can read more about The Controversy Over The Vote Count.

A little bit about Puerto Rico’s current status 

“Puerto Rico came under US control in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. It has its own governor and legislative body and it became a US commonwealth territory with its own constitution in 1952.
Its commonwealth status means Puerto Rico is subject to US federal laws, though island residents are exempt from some federal taxes.
The biggest lesson of Puerto Rico's bankruptcy

Puerto Ricans have been US citizens since 1917, however, as residents of a commonwealth territory rather than a state they can’t vote for president in the US general election. The territory has a nonvoting delegate in Congress, called a resident commissioner.”