Puerto Rico: At the center of a political storm, but can its residents vote for president?
WASHINGTON – Puerto Rico voters upset at President Donald Trump for his long-running feud with the island over disaster aid don't have much recourse at the ballot box in 2020 – not unless they move to the mainland.
That's because the nearly 3.2 million American citizens who live in Puerto Rico play no direct role in electing U.S. presidents. Residents of the other four U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands) also do not have the right to vote in general elections.
The District of Columbia (a.k.a. Washington, D.C.) is the only jurisdiction outside the 50 states whose residents can vote for the president. It has three electoral votes.
Territories can help choose each party's nominee, however. The political parties have the ability to include them in the primary selection process.
In 2016, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio won Puerto Rico's GOP primary, trouncing Trump 71% to 13% and winning all 20 of the territory's Republican delegates. It was one of only three primaries Rubio won (along with Minnesota and the District of Columbia).
The larger risk for Trump is the relocation to the mainland of thousands of Puerto Ricans who fled the island after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Researchers say it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where those fleeing Maria's aftermath resettled, but a large percentage are believed to have moved to Florida, where more than 1 million Puerto Ricans reside.
That could be bad news for Trump, who defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Florida in 2016 by fewer than 113,000 votes out of nearly 9.5 million cast.
A poll conducted last year by the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University found that more than 70% of Puerto Ricans who moved to the Sunshine State since 2017 have a negative view of the president.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Puerto Rico: At the center of a political storm, but can its residents vote for president?