On Wednesday, Maine’s legislature passed a bill joining a compact to commit all of their electoral votes, regardless of who won in their individual state, to whichever candidate won the national popular vote.
I'm a dirty foreigner and I'm not too clear on the status of Puerto Rico, but somehow I'd assumed that they'd get to vote in federal elections since they're a part of the country
They're a part of the country, in that they are citizens and pay taxes. They don't have representation in Congress (they send delegates, but those people can't vote on anything) and they aren't represented in the electoral college.
Fun fact, citizens of Washington DC are similarly unrepresented in Congress, but they do get to vote for President.
I've never really understood why DC folks don't get a vote, but at least I knew about that one (it gets mentioned in movies and series from time to time)
DC doesn't get its own separate representative because every congressperson has a vested interest in representing it (since they all live there half the time). The arrangement was specifically designed to avoid giving DC too much power.
That honestly seems a bit fucked up. What on earth do they get out of the arrangement if they're not even able to have the slightest bit of influence in the system?
from what I understand about it, which I am in no way a scholar on the area I am just going off what I remember from my grandfather who was a history teacher. In order for them to get statehood they essentially have to vote on it twice in favor in a row, because they need to vote on it to elect faux representatives to act on their behalf in washington, then on top of that they need to vote yes on it again a few years later during the actual status of the statehood. Currently they have done the first two steps, and are (unless it's blocked) currently set up to vote on the status of their state this August.
It's not as though they're not given the opportunity to become a state. They have voted in the past for things to stay as-is. If I recall, it was a pretty close vote, however.
Consequently, while all Puerto Rico residents pay federal taxes, many residents are not required to pay federal income taxes. Aside from income tax, U.S. federal taxes include customs taxes,[1] federal commodity taxes, and federal payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment taxes).
Hah that's true. What would be their equivalent of the Boston Tea Party today? Dump all the Viagra they've manufactured in the sea? "Puerto Rico Viagra Party" sounds like a porn title
I didn't realize that statehood is a requirement for actual representation in Congress / the House and being able to participate in federal elections. I've just blithely assumed that they'd get some sort of representation regardless, and that everybody would have voting rights.
Pretty sure they can vote, technically. However only states have senators and congress critters, and the president is elected by the electoral college, which is based on house and senate representatives