Puerto Rico voted on Sunday in favor of becoming the 51st state. The vote was 97% in favor of statehood. Puerto Rico's governor will send lawmakers to Washington, but Congress has the final say.
How they got such a wide margin: Only 23% of registered voters voted after of the anti-statehood movement called for a boycott of the election, hoping that a low turnout would lessen the credibility of the vote. Those against statehood cite reasons like losing the island's cultural identity and having to pay more in federal taxes, according to a Washington Post report. Those for statehood cite a possible U.S. bailout from its current financial mess as a leading reason, according to the New York Times.
