Balkinization: More on Puerto Rico's contribution to the Iraqi War and on participation in the national electoral process

More on Puerto Rico's contribution to the Iraqi War and on participation in the national electoral process

Sandy Levinson

I note for the record first that the International Herald Tribune lists "only" 33 deaths "from" Puerto Rico , which be accounted for by differentiating enlistees directly from the island, as against ethnic Puerto Ricans from New York or New Jersey, for example. Secondly, an interesting story in last year's Washington Post, on resistance to military recruiting in Puerto Rican schools, notes that In the 2003-06 period, 4,947 Puerto Rican men and women enlisted in the Army or Reserves, or approximately 123 people per 100,000 residents, according to Pentagon data. That is below the average contribution of U.S. states, and far below the numbers in states such as Alabama, Kansas, Montana, and Oklahoma, each of which enlists more than 200 men and women per 100,000, according to Army data."

I am curious whether those readers who believe it is just fine for Puerto Rico to be shut out of participation in our national political system (perhaps because, after all, a majority of Puerto Ricans have not yet indicated a preference for statehood and the considerably higher tax burden that would accompany statehood) are critical as of Senators Obama and Clinton for not having the integrity to denounce the award of 53 delegates to the Democratic convention (and Senator McCain for not denouncing the presence of 23 Puerto Rican delegates at the Republican convention)? Or is there a plausible theory--perhaps based on the notion that political parties are merely "private associations"--that justifies giving Puerto Rico these delegates but no participation at all in the final election?

I assume that any arguments about the participation rights of American citizens living in Puerto Rico, would also extend to Guam, with its nine delegates, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, also with nine delegates. There's also the interesting matter of the eleven delegates representing "Americans abroad," who may or may not have retained residency in American states and thus be entitled to cast absentee ballots. On the Republican side, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas each gets nine delegates. (I can find no evidence that the Democratic Party will be seating any delegates from the Northern Marianas. What does the Republican Party know that the Democratic Party does not? It is not, for example, that Northern Marianans are not US citizens, because they are. )

Posted 6:30 PM by Sandy Levinson [link]

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Apparently there may be an underlying political PR campaign involved that goes with the territory.

# posted by

Shag from Brookline : 6:01 AM

"There's also the interesting matter of the eleven delegates representing "Americans abroad," who may or may not have retained residency in American states and thus be entitled to cast absentee ballots."

In Presidential elections this is not the way it works (I lived overseas for 17 years). There was a separate primary for Americans Abroad.

As to the general election, the question was where was your last place of residence in the United States and one then sent in the absentee ballot to the relevant person in the state (Secretary of State etc). Maintaining US residence was irrelevant for purposes of federal elections.

# posted by

Benjamin Davis : 8:30 AM

This little discrepancy about the Northern Marianas islands that you note parenthetically seems interesting in light of the longstanding and deep ties between the Marianas Islands leadership and the Republican party, particularly in Congress.

Lately this association has been in the news a bit because of the Jack Abramoff scandal. Abramoff was paid millions of dollars to lobby against imposing the federal minimum wage on the Marianas Islands, among other issues; many Republican members of Congress have gone to bat for the companies doing business on the islands, despite serious accusations of sweatshop working conditions, near-indentured servitude labor practices, and human rights abuses. See background info here. The issue has also recently ensnared a senate candidate.

I have no idea what connection, if any, there is between the question of which territories send delegates to which party conventions and this link between the Marianas leadership and the Republican party. But it certainly would be an interesting issue for someone to look into. Do political ties of powerful corporations and officials to the Republicans yield delegates to their national convention? Or conversely, do Democrats refuse to offer slots at their convention to the Marianas Islands because they perceive the islands to be a Republican fiefdom? What is going on here exactly?

# posted by

Joseph Fishkin : 2:15 PM

I have a genuine question for Benjamin Davis or any other election law maven who might see this post: Are any formal indicia of "residence" required in the last state one lived before moving to Europe, or does one retain voting residency in, say, Kansas even if one has not lived there or otherwise had any formal connection with Kansas for say, 10 y years?

Do such voters get to vote for other officials as well (senators, representatives, members of the local school board), or do they get to vote only for the presidential electors?

# posted by

Sandy Levinson : 2:58 PM

I am far from a maven on this.

Only for federal contests (President and Congressperson) if I remember right - but that might differ from state to state.

I had not lived in Massachusetts for 13 years when I voted in the 1996 Presidential election for example.

No other indicia of connection except last US voting residence was what I remember from when I was in Paris. I wish I had a copy of the Federal Absentee Ballot and its Instructions.
Hope that helps.

Best,
Ben

# posted by

Benjamin Davis : 3:49 PM

Thanks for drawing attention to an important political, and legal, issue. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917, and they have fought as Americans in every war since WWI. For Bart dePalma's information, that includes wars when they were drafted and had no choice but to go wherever Uncle Sam sent them. Frankly, I am heartened that the national parties have decided to give fellow citizens recognition that is denied to them by Congress. Because of the tight Democratic race, I have hope that the status question finally will merit serious attention at the national level.

It is far too simple to say that the people of Puerto Rico do not want to change the Free Associated Status that was offered to them by Congress over half a century ago. The world has changed much since then, and the economic advantages offered by Congress to Puerto Ricans have disappeared along with the Cold War-era military bases that were the tit for tat for those incentives. But Congress never offered Puerto Rico any meaningful participation in the national political process. And as economic conditions worsen on the island, Puerto Ricans are left with practically no say about policies, politics, and programs that could help reinvogorate the economy.

These second class citizens (of which I am one) meanwhile have contributed in very meaningful ways to the society, culture, and norms that we are so proud of in the U.S. Puerto Ricans have served and are serving with distinction in the military, in the U.S. government, and in the legal and corporate world. They have proudly represented the U.S. in the Olympics (for example, U.S. Gold Medal winner Gigi Fernandez), they have been (or are) prominent artists (Raul Julia, Jose Ferrer, Rita Moreno, Benicio del Toro, etc), have served as U.S. ambassadors overseas, and one was named the Surgeon General by the first President Bush (Antonia Novello).

In sum, the Democratic and Republican parties, to their credit, have acted honorably and equitably in giving fellow citizens living in Puerto Rico a say in national politics. It is a recognition that Puerto Ricans deserve from Congress and the Executive Branch as well.

# posted by

Richard Figueroa : 3:58 PM

There is no formal proof of former residency required for absentee voting. All you have to do is provide the last address used in the US.

Whether or not you can vote for local elections depends on the state. Georgia, for example, allows absentee voters to vote for everything on the normal ballot. If my memory serves, California does not.

I'm registered to vote in Georgia, which is where I lived for several years in college. I have no real connection to the state, familial or otherwise, but that's where I vote, even if I haven't lived there in nearly a decade and I'll never live there again.

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