2020 Puerto Rico statehood referendum

The 2020 Puerto Rico referendum was a non-binding vote asking residents whether they wanted the territory to become a U.S. state. Over 520,000 people voted “Yes,” favoring statehood, out of about 1.2 million voters, but the turnout was around 55%. The Puerto Rican government interpreted the results as strong support for statehood, but Congress and the U.S. government did not automatically act on the referendum. The vote was part of ongoing debates about Puerto Rico’s political status, with options including independence, maintaining the current commonwealth status, or statehood.