Three main alternatives are generally presented to Puerto Rican voters during Puerto Rico political status referendums: full independence, maintenance or enhancement of the current commonwealth status, and full statehood into the American Union. The exact expectations for each of these status formulas are a matter of debate by a given position's adherents and detractors. Puerto Ricans have proposed positions that modify the three alternatives above, such as (a) indemnified independence with phased-out US subsidy, (b) expanded political but not fiscal autonomy, and (c) statehood with a gradual phasing out of federal tax exemption.[citation needed][note 1]
Regardless of the outcome of the referendum or the vote on the bill, action by the United States Congress would be necessary to implement changes to the status of Puerto Rico under the Territorial Clause of the United States Constitution.[1] The United States has been preparing for the outcome of a binding-referendum with Puerto Rico Status Act in the 2020s, and it passed the U.S. House in 2022, but not senate. In 2024, another non-binding referendum was included in the November 2024 ballot, the outcome was Statehood again being favored with about 58% of the vote.
The last State to join the Union was Hawaii, in 1959, although the last territory to formally join the United States was the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1986. Puerto Rico is also a Commonwealth, the most popular option in 1960s, but it is still having referendums whereas Northern Marianas was not a part of the USA, and had several referendums eventually choosing the USA in the late 20th century.
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