On November 3, Puerto Rican citizens will vote on whether or not they would like to request to become an American state.
Ritchie Torres, the Democratic congressional nominee from the Bronx, believes that Puerto Ricans should say yes to statehood so that they can have the same rights as every other American. If elected, Torres will replace Rep. Jose Serrano (D-New York). The Bronx has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans of any congressional district in the country.
“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re going to be on the menu,” Torres told Politico. “The people on the island should not be at the mercy of presidents and Congress.”
If Puerto Rico becomes a state, they will receive two U.S. senators, a possible five seats in the House of Representatives, and seven electoral votes for presidential elections.
In a recent poll, Puerto Ricans favored statehood by an 18-point margin, a much larger margin than in the past.
However, some Puerto Rican Americans want to remain independent, many of whom are surprisingly progressive Democrats. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens, Bronx) and Representative Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan) want to create a proposal for the island’s relationship with the U.S. if the process for statehood starts after a positive vote.
