http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/s...0,472478.story
Even though 54 percent voted "No" on the first question,Puerto Ricans faced two questions in a status vote on Tuesday, with the first asking if Puerto Rico should keep its current status as a self-governing commonwealth.
Despite the news reporting that ultimately/technically it was a vote for Statehood, there does seem to be a lot of people out there who just don't know what they would prefer. I know nothing about what their level of conversation has been about this issue there currently, but I wonder if this is a result from people not really debating their options and if this will spur a conversation on a new level? I know my friend who has family in Puerto Rico has been highly invested in this issue and I have yet to hear what her opinion is about the vote.The second question asked voters, regardless of their answer to the first question, to choose their preference among three non-territorial options - U.S. statehood, independence, or a sovereign free association with ties to the United States. [...] But nearly one-third of the total votes cast left the answer to the second question blank and were not included in the vote tally. With those ballots counted, support for statehood was calculated to be closer to 45 percent, analysts said.
If they do become a new state, it would be exciting! It would officially make Spanish a second national language and definitely add a new dimension to our politics perhaps.