Washington — Voters in Puerto Rico who’re angered by an offensive comment concerning the island at former President Donald Trump’s marketing campaign rally at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York on Sunday have little recourse as a result of residents of the territory can’t vote within the presidential election.
However there are hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans dwelling in one of many 50 states who’re eligible to vote. In keeping with the Pew Analysis Middle, Puerto Ricans make up the second-largest Hispanic voting group, with practically 6 million voters dwelling within the mainland U.S. as of 2021. Pennsylvania specifically has a large Puerto Rican inhabitants whose votes may make a distinction within the battleground state.
Days earlier than Election Day, Trump’s marketing campaign is making an attempt to distance itself from comic Tony Hinchcliffe who made a number of racist and crude insults towards minorities on the rally, together with calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of rubbish.”
Can Puerto Ricans vote in U.S. presidential elections?
There are 3.4 million residents dwelling on the island of Puerto Rico, in line with the 2020 Census. These residents of Puerto Rico will not be permitted to vote in presidential elections, although they’re U.S. residents and may take part within the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries.
Puerto Ricans can vote in federal elections in the event that they dwell in one of many 50 states or Washington, D.C., and are registered to vote.
What did Tony Hinchcliffe say about Puerto Rico on the Trump rally?
Racist jokes made by comic Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by the stage title Kill Tony, overshadowed what was purported to be Trump’s closing message.
“I do not know in case you guys know this, however there’s actually a floating island of rubbish in the midst of the ocean proper now. I believe it is referred to as Puerto Rico,” Hinchcliffe mentioned.
Trump’s marketing campaign mentioned Hinchcliffe’s jokes, which additionally included offensive jokes about Black folks and Latinos, weren’t pre-approved or reviewed by the marketing campaign.
“This joke doesn’t replicate the views of President Trump or the marketing campaign,” senior adviser Danielle Alvarez mentioned in a press release.
Why is not Puerto Rico a state?
There’s been a yearslong debate over the standing of Puerto Rico, which turned a U.S. territory in 1898 after Spain ceded it to the U.S. following the Spanish-American Conflict.
Congress has been reluctant to present Puerto Rico statehood due to the potential financial prices, in addition to considerations about how it will change the steadiness of energy in Washington.
If it turned a state, two senators can be added to the Senate and it will obtain proportional illustration within the Home.
Puerto Rico has held a sequence of nonbonding votes on its relationship with the U.S., most just lately in 2020 through which greater than half of voters mentioned the island must be granted statehood.
What different U.S. territories are excluded from presidential elections?
Like Puerto Rico, residents of those U.S. territories can’t vote in presidential elections: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Aside from residents of American Samoa, these born within the different 4 American territories are U.S. residents and may vote in federal elections in the event that they dwell in one of many 50 states or Washington, D.C. Residents of American Samoa, who’re U.S. nationals, will not be eligible to vote in federal elections even when they dwell in one of many states.
