this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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Puerto Ricans cannot vote in general elections despite being U.S. citizens, but they can exert a powerful influence with relatives on the mainland. Phones across the island of 3.2 million people were ringing minutes after the speaker derided the U.S. territory Sunday night, and they still buzzed Monday.

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is competing with Trump to win over Puerto Rican communities in Pennsylvania and other swing states. Shortly after stand-up comic Tony Hinchcliffe said that, “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Bad Bunny announced he was backing Harris.

After Sunday’s rally, a senior adviser for the Trump campain, Danielle Alvarez, said in a statement that Hinchcliffe’s joke did “not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

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[–] _digital_aftermath_@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

I really hope this is true and they can make a TRUE difference in the swing states. I was watching some interviews and in some cases there were Puerto Ricans that were annoyed but were still going to vote for Trump anyway!

[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 47 points 17 hours ago (4 children)

I saw a video of the 'comedy' that was said about Puerto Rico and I am honestly just fucking baffled as to why they hate them that much? I guess all they need to be to be hated is just be browner than they are.

Also how come the issue of Trump's disgusting behavior during Hurricane Maria and his refusal to fully help them beyond a stupid stunt that had him throw a paper towel at someone's face.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 3 points 9 hours ago

They’re brown AND their country has a very Spanish sounding name. I can hear talking about it now: “any sumbitches from a place called PWER-TOE REEE-KO ain’t Mexicans just as much as any sand n*****s from Saudi Arabia ain’t AY-RABS!”

[–] TexMexBazooka@lemm.ee 23 points 15 hours ago (1 children)
[–] unphazed@lemmy.world 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The GOP controllers aren't the racists though. They're rich, and puppets to the wealthy. In order to remain in positions of power, they create an enemy, in the form of bigotry and racism. Their sheep are racists. This is why though I trust very few politicians, I trust the Dems more atm because they are not using hatred and violence.

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 2 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

I'm not so sure, I bet some (or most?) of them are racist too. I'm sure they play it up, but do you really think they are all that accepting of people of color?

[–] unphazed@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago

I think they are accepting of themselves and only thmselves so long as their selfishness is to benefit. For sure though, the act of leading people with racist rhetoric is as bad or even worse than racism itself.

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[–] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 30 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

A lot of them don't know that Puerto Ricans are Americans. So, add xenophobia to the racism.

[–] mitchty@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 16 hours ago

Man when I went to pr for a quick vacation the amount of people asking about passports floored me. I was like it’s a us territory how have you not learnt that in school?

Also I got lots of local pr Spanish slang, they’re chill peeps and mofongo is the best. I think they should get statehood they’re bigger in population than the state I grew up in and it would be nice to shake up us politics with more senate seats.

[–] Grilipper54@sh.itjust.works 8 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I was thinking the guy is an idiot and meant to say Cuba but I have no idea. This is the first time I've ever heard anybody talk crap about Puerto Rico and it made no sense.

[–] smeenz@lemmy.nz 5 points 15 hours ago

I assumed he meant to say Haiti, which is still awful, but at least it would have kind of made sense...poorly.

[–] atempuser23@lemmy.world 37 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

No. This is NOT shaping the race. VOTE

This changes nothing not a single Trump voter changed their minds. The Trump Puerto Ricans agree with this. They just think it's the 'others' fault.

VOTE

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 8 points 17 hours ago

I wish you were wrong

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 12 points 15 hours ago

I think the cluste4fuck that was the aftermath of the earthquake in Puerto Rico was a unifying moment for America.

Trump's supporters and haters all agreed that the President of Puerto Rico was a useless, arrogant, son of a bitch.

[–] HawlSera@lemm.ee 20 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Reminder: The only reason Puerto Ricans cannot vote is because Republicans refuse to recognize it as a state, and they do that because they don't want brown people to vote, and they don't want brown people to vote because they don't want them to exist.

[–] VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 23 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

As much as I hate the GOP, Puerto Rico has never attempted to apply for statehood. Their referendums on the subject have never shown a large enough amount of support for them to try a real vote. They're typically around a 50-50 split.

[–] Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 16 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

State or not I think its pretty ridiculous that they are american citizens but can't vote for president of the united states... People living in DC get to vote and aren't living in a state.

[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 14 hours ago

But they choose to not. One of those cake and eat it too scenarios.

A territory like them is eligible for Federal money from various programs, while not having to pay Federal income tax. If they became a state, they'd then have to pay income tax, lose benefit of the free program money, but be allowed to vote.

If you don't want to fully commit to the whole package and are milking the advantages of being a territory, should you really get a right to choose how the package that is being taxed and giving you free money is steered?

(Oversimplification, of course.)

If I were a member of a territory, I don't really know where my thoughts would land.

However, as one that is taxed, it seems that allowing the untaxed to choose our taxed destiny would be disingenuous.

[–] mitchty@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Only citizens residing in a state for the majority of the year can vote for federal elections. Basically you need a senator to vote federally. Hawaii and all other states were the same way when they too were territories. All PR needs to do is vote for statehood and then I guess the political shitshow starts as well as flag redesign.

[–] Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 5 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Except we made an exception for citizens that reside in Washington DC. They have no representative in the senate, but were given 3 electoral college votes for president and vice president.

So we totally can (and have) extended the right to vote to citizens living outside one of the 50 states to vote, we just won't for Puerto Rico. :(

[–] mitchty@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 12 hours ago

That exception was the 23rd amendment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-third_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Puerto Ricans as an example don’t meet the same conditions e.g. paying federal income tax. Hence statehood as their option to representation.

[–] wolfpack86@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

You aren't correct. https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-voter/voting-residence

You generally need to have established residency in a state at some point in your life, but there is zero requirement to spend any time there if you live abroad in order to retain your voting rights. Several states allow children who have been born overseas the right to vote at their parents last US address.

However, because Puerto Rico is part of the United States, residents there (even if you retired there after living in New York your entire life) fall under the rules for Puerto Rico.

So, you can live in Mexico as a US Citizen, permanently, and retain voting rights in your last state... Or you can live in Puerto Rico and lose the ability to vote for president.

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[–] NotBillMurray@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago

Hear me out here, turn Puerto Rico into a state and combine both north and south Dakota into a new state called "One big Dakota". We wouldn't even need to change the flag, and the population of one big Dakota might break 5 digits.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 36 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

After Sunday’s rally, a senior adviser for the Trump campain, Danielle Alvarez, said in a statement that Hinchcliffe’s joke did “not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

"All the stuff about you people being vermin that poison the blood of America, though, we meant that."

[–] frezik@midwest.social 25 points 18 hours ago

What an incredibly stupid thing for them to say. This was an official election rally, and they 100% vetted every joke before he went out there. If they didn't, they're incompetent. So either way, their own weak ass defense is damning.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 15 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

After Sunday’s rally, a senior adviser for the Trump campain, Danielle Alvarez, said in a statement that Hinchcliffe’s joke did “not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

Your team knew exactly who he is and you specifically invited him to be part of your event.

[–] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 9 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The Trump team also asked him to remove the word C*** from his set before he went on and he agreed.

The Trump team reviewed his set before he went on and did not have issues with Puerto Rico comments.

[–] tacosplease@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

They say he was going off script for that part. But of course they would say that.

[–] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Ya, that whole set-up, punchline situation just came to him in the spur of the moment.

[–] tacosplease@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

I don't believe them either. Just saying that's the lazy excuse they gave.

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 8 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

I'm wondering what Kimberly Guilfoyle - Don Jrs half Puerto Rican girlfriend thinks about it. I'm sure she's doing mental gymnastics to justify it.

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[–] Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world 140 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Taxation without representation

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 13 points 18 hours ago

the nation that started as a rebellion on this is doing the same thing to its own citizens? that's like building the land of the free using slave labor!

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[–] Kaput@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

Can American citizens living abroad vote?

[–] ABluManOnLemmy@feddit.nl 8 points 18 hours ago

Yes, they have a right to vote in the state they last lived in (or, if they never lived in one, perhaps the state their parent last lived in?) but unfortunately Puerto Ricans can't vote in presidential elections.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 7 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (4 children)

Generally yes, but not in Puerto Rico. If they move to the mainland, they can vote for any elections there, but while living in Puerto Rico, they only vote for members of Congress that serve a mostly observational role.

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[–] OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world 163 points 1 day ago (47 children)

Puerto Rico needs to be a state already. Washington DC too.

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 17 hours ago

Puerto Rico periodically votes on whether or not to pursue becoming a state, becoming a state doesn't win except in one vote that was specifically a non-binding vote on the topic and that had much lower turnout than other votes on the idea.

DC was literally created specifically to not be a state, so that no state held the seat of the federal government.

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