In an overshadowed Election Day contest , Puerto Ricans voted in favor of statehood in a nonbinding referendum , marking the first time such an initiative garnered a majority . Puerto Ricans were asked about their desires in two parts . First , by a 54 % to 46 % margin , voters rejected their current status as a U.S. commonwealth . In a separate question , 61 % chose statehood as the alternative , compared with 33 % for the semi-autonomous `` sovereign free association '' and 6 % for outright independence . While the results may be an indicator of what Puerto Ricans want , statehood will not be possible without congressional action in Washington , something that is not guaranteed . Read more : Puerto Rico : A forgotten front in America 's drug war ? An economic downturn and shrinking population were the factors that contributed to the support for statehood , where referendums in 1967 , 1993 and 1998 failed , Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said . `` I think people just came to realize that the current relationship simply does not create the number of jobs that we need , '' he said . An exodus of residents from the island has culminated in a staggering statistic : Fifty-eight percent of Puerto Ricans live in the mainland United States , McClintock said . Opinion : Treat U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico fairly . `` When you have a political status that scares away half of your population , it is time to reject that political status , '' he said . But some analysts say the views on statehood have not changed , despite Tuesday 's results . The preference of many voters is to consider a report by the Obama administration that lays out several noncolonial options before choosing an alternative status , said Jorge Benitez , a political scientist at the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras . This option , which is supported by the party that won the governorship , did not appear on the ballot . `` This is n't to say that support for statehood has n't increased ; it has , '' Benitez said . `` But the only thing we can decipher with certainty from the vote is that the people of Puerto Rico want a change to the current status . `` It is n't clear what change we want , but we want change , '' he said . The results of the referendum met with other criticisms , too . There were voters who prefer the current status but did n't agree with the way it was defined on the ballot , thereby inflating the number of votes against the status quo , said Luis Agrait , a history professor at the University of Puerto Rico . Secondly , a large number of ballots -- one-third of all votes cast -- were left blank on the question of preferred alternative status . If you assume those blank votes are anti-statehood votes , the true result for the statehood option would be less than 50 % , Agrait argues . Opinion : 'But what 's a Latino ? ' But McClintock accounts for the number of blank votes by explaining that those who voted to keep the current status would have left the question of alternatives blank . The referendum is nonbinding , but it compels lawmakers in Washington to act , he said . `` The people are withdrawing their consent to be governed the way they are governed , '' McClintock said , citing the Declaration of Independence , which states that a government 's power comes from the consent of those governed . `` Congress will have to address this and will have to pay attention , '' he said . The roughly 4 million residents of Puerto Rico are American citizens but ca n't vote for president . However , the almost 5 million Puerto Ricans living in the 50 U.S. states have full voting rights . Under its status as a commonwealth , Puerto Rico is subject to U.S. federal laws , though island residents are exempt from some federal taxes . Puerto Rico has a nonvoting representative in Congress . The territory played a role in presidential politics this year during the GOP primaries , when candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum visited the island , seeking its delegates for the primary election . Santorum , a former Pennsylvania senator , created a small political firestorm when he said English should be the principal language in Puerto Rico before it could gain statehood . Romney said he would have `` no preconditions '' on language for Puerto Rico to gain statehood , though during a CNN debate , he said English should be the United States ' official language . Last year , President Barack Obama made an official visit to Puerto Rico , the first such visit by a president in 50 years .
In a 2004 referendum , Puerto Rico voted on island 's status as a U.S. commonwealth . A majority supported the current status and favored statehood as an alternative . It is the first time a majority of voters supported statehood . But analysts have problems drawing conclusions from the results .