Puerto Rico Statehood: Puerto Ricans Vote in Support of Becoming 51st State

In a vote on Puerto Rico's views on the relationship with the United States, a majority of Puerto Ricans voted in favor of statehood.

In a vote on election day, Puerto Ricans were asked two questions about their relationship with the United States. In the first referendum, Puetro Rican voters said they were unsatisfied with their current relationship with the United States as a commonwealth. The vote was 54 to 46 percent. In a second vote, 61 percent said that they would want Puerto Rico to be considered as a state, however 460,000 left the vote blank, according to the Huffington Post.

"Statehood won a victory without precedent, but it's an artificial victory," Angel Israel Rivera Ortiz, a political science professor at the University of Puerto Rico said, according to The Guardian. "It reflects a divided and confused electorate that is not clear on where it's going."

This was the first time that Puerto Rico showed that they were in favor of statehood. Puerto Ricans rejected the idea in referendums in 1967, 1993 and 1998, according to CNN.

Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock said that a smaller population and an economic downturn led to the change of heart."I think people just came to realize that the current relationship simply does not create the number of jobs that we need," McClintock told CNN.

However, just because Puerto Rico seems to be in favor of statehood, this change won't take place immediately. Statehood isn't possible without congressional action, so it isn't guaranteed.

Those on social media seem to be excited over the possibility of Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state. Several options for 51-state American flags were being shared on Facebook and Twitter.

Puerto Rico is currently a territory of the U.S and has been for 114 years. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, but they can't vote in the presidential election and they have no representation in the Senate. They do have limited representation in the House of Representatives, according to The Guardian.