Puerto Rico’s $1.3 million referendum on political status faces scrutiny and legal challenges. Here’s what you need to know.

The referendum will cost $1.3 million, a figure that has been criticized as excessive, especially given Puerto Rico’s financial situation.

Puerto Rico is set to hold a nonbinding referendum on its political status, a decision that has drawn significant scrutiny due to its high cost and perceived lack of impact. 

The initiative came under scrutiny on July 24 for its multimillion-dollar cost as election officials announced the order and description of choices on the upcoming ballot.

RELATED: Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin proposes public hearing on Puerto Rico’s political status

Here’s what you need to know about this upcoming event:

What is the referendum about?

The referendum, scheduled for November 5 during the general elections, will allow Puerto Ricans to vote on three potential political statuses:

1. Independence with free association: This would involve negotiating issues like foreign affairs, US citizenship, and the use of the US dollar on the island.
2. Statehood: This would mean Puerto Rico becomes the 51st state of the US.
3. Independence: Full independence from the US.

The order of these options was determined through a televised drawing supervised by judges at the Puerto Rico Elections Commission last Wednesday.

Financial and political context

The referendum will cost $1.3 million, a figure that has been criticized as excessive, especially given Puerto Rico’s financial situation. The island is recovering from the largest public debt restructuring in US history, with over $70 billion in debt resulting from decades of mismanagement and corruption.

Jessika Padilla, the elections commission’s alternate president, revealed that the budget for the upcoming elections was increased from $6.2 million to $7.5 million, with the additional funds allocated to the referendum.

Criticism and legal challenges

Critics argue that the referendum is an unnecessary expense amidst a severe cost of living crisis. Jesús Manuel Ortiz, leader of the main opposition Popular Democratic Party (PPD by its Spanish initials) and the candidate for governor for the party, has labeled it a “totally unjustified expense.”

On July 25, Puerto Rico’s Constitution Day was celebrated on the island.

Ortiz defended the Commonwealth (ELA by its Spanish initials), at an event to commemorate the holiday.

“Both (statehood and independence) are increasingly far away. Both utopias are used to evade the urgent and important challenges of our time. To top it off, these ideologues, on a day like today (July 25), dedicate themselves to criticizing the ELA. To disdain our legacy. To belittle our Constitution, the fruit of the consensus that created our country. Because they prefer to blame the ELA, without recognizing the failure of their inept administrations,” Ortiz said at the event.

The Puerto Rican Independence Party has also challenged the referendum in court. The island’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Political implications

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, a proponent of statehood from the  Progressive New Party (PNP) announced the referendum on July 1. He has defended the decision, stating that Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million US citizens deserve equal rights, including the right to vote in US general elections. However, the referendum’s outcome will not change Puerto Rico’s status without approval from the US Congress and the president.

The announcement came after Pierluisi lost his party’s primary to Jenniffer González, a Republican and Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, who supports statehood and has pledged to push for it if she wins in November. Despite the island’s unique political landscape, which often sees both Democrats and Republicans in the same party, González is a supporter of former President Donald Trump, who does not support statehood for Puerto Rico.

The resident commissioner is the candidate for governor for the PNP in the upcoming election.

Historical context

This will be Puerto Rico’s seventh referendum on political status. The most recent one in 2020 saw nearly 53% of voters favoring statehood, though only about half of registered voters participated.

So far, Congress has not shown any concrete interest in discussing Puerto Rico’s status in the near future.

RELATED: Democrats Pass Puerto Rico Status Act

Last year, a bipartisan group including González and Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), who advocates for self-determination, reintroduced a bill known as The Puerto Rico Status Act, which proposes a three-option referendum on Puerto Rico’s political status.

The bill would have Puerto Ricans vote in 2025 to decide between statehood, independence, or independence with a free association compact with the US. If no option receives a majority, a runoff election between the top two choices would be held.