Puerto Rico Status Plebiscites (1967-2020)

Puerto Rico has held six status plebiscites over more than five decades, each revealing the fundamental contradiction of colonial democracy: the colonized can vote, but the colonizer decides.

1967 Plebiscite: The first vote offered three options — Commonwealth, Statehood, and Independence. Commonwealth won with 60.4% of the vote. The independence movement boycotted, arguing the vote was illegitimate under colonial conditions.

1993 Plebiscite: Commonwealth again won narrowly with 48.6%, followed by Statehood at 46.3% and Independence at 4.4%.

1998 Plebiscite: Statehood received 46.5%, but "None of the Above" won with 50.3%, reflecting widespread dissatisfaction with the options presented.

2012 Plebiscite: For the first time, a majority (54%) voted that they did NOT want to maintain the current territorial status. In a second question, Statehood received 61.2% of valid votes, though 500,000 ballots were left blank.

2017 Plebiscite: Statehood won with 97% — but only 23% of eligible voters participated, as opposition parties boycotted.

2020 Plebiscite: A simple yes-or-no question on statehood passed with 52.5% in favor, with 55% turnout.

Despite multiple votes showing majority support for a change in status, Congress has never acted on any plebiscite result. The Puerto Rico Status Act (H.R. 8393) passed the House in December 2022 but died in the Senate without a vote. The plebiscites illustrate the core colonial paradox: Puerto Rico cannot vote itself out of colonialism because the power to change its status lies with Congress, not with Puerto Ricans.