Puerto Rico vote update

[DEMOREP1 at aol.com]

I assume that the voters will NOT be using number votes ( 1, 2,  3) along with
the standard YES/NO on each choice.   Thus, if 2 or more choices get YES
majorities, there will be some chaos.
------
Puerto Rico Mulls 51st State Status

.c The Associated Press 

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- With festive marches and TV ads, political
parties have kicked off their campaigns for a December plebiscite on Puerto
Rico's relationship with the United States. 

Hundreds of people who want Puerto Rico to become a U.S. state waved American
flags on Sunday as they weaved through northern Arecibo on a ``Caravan for
Equality.'' 

In eastern Caguas, supporters of the current commonwealth arrangement
countered with a ``Commonwealth Crusade'' rally, while independence advocates
took to radio talk shows to sell their cause. 

Those who want Puerto Rico to be the 51st state are already running television
advertisements insisting the island would not lose the Spanish language or its
distinct character after joining the union. ``Statehood: your language, your
culture, your future,'' the ads promise. 

Puerto Rico marks 100 years as a U.S. possession this year, and the island's
pro-statehood governor has been pressuring the U.S. Congress to hold a vote to
resolve the island's ambiguous relationship with the United States. 

After the proposal stalled in the Senate, Gov. Pedro Rossello called a local,
non-binding plebiscite for Dec. 13. 

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and receive limited federal benefits, but they
cannot vote for president, have no vote in Congress and do not pay federal
taxes. 

The island was ceded to the United States by Spain as part of the treaty that
ended the Spanish-American War in 1898. 

Rossello's New Progressive Party will spend about $2.5 million to sell
statehood to Puerto Ricans, said party secretary general Jose Aponte. Fund
raising by political action groups could drive campaign spending much higher. 

AP-NY-09-14-98 1023EDT