U.S. Opposes Puerto Rican Vote

The U.S. Justice Department said Monday it will appeal a court ruling that would allow Puerto Ricans to vote for president—a decision that could add 2.4 million voters to the November elections.

The case threatens to upset the relationship between the United States and the territory, whose 3.9 million residents are U.S. citizens but historically have not been able to vote for president and have only a nonvoting delegate in Congress.

Attorneys have appealed the Aug. 29 U.S. District Court ruling, moving the battle to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The court in Boston deals with federal appeals from Puerto Rico.

The appeal of the ruling—handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Jaime Pieras—came even as Puerto Rican elections officials began preparing ballots for the Nov. 7 vote.

"Basically, our position is that the Constitution does not provide for anything other than states to choose electors," said Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller.

Article II of the Constitution specifies, "The Electors shall meet in their respective states." The only exception is the 23rd Amendment, which gave Washington, D.C. residents the right to vote.

The ruling could add 2.4 million registered voters to the rolls—more voters than half the U.S. states and about the same number who were registered in Colorado, Arizona and Alabama in the 1996 election.

The island became a U.S. territory in 1898 when the United States wrested it from Spain during the Spanish-American War.

Puerto Rican lawyer Gregorio Igartua de la Rosa, who filed the lawsuit seeking the vote for Puerto Ricans, said he was disappointed by the decision to appeal.

"It is against the national democratic principles of the United States," he said.

A similar lawsuit by Igartua was overturned by an appeals court in 1995, but Pieras' ruling takes a different tack—saying that the right to vote for president depends on U.S. citizenship, not on where U.S. citizens live.

Gov. Pedro Rossello and the Puerto Rican government have joined Igartua's lawsuit.

On Sunday, Rossello signed a law ordering the local elections commission to add a fourth ballot for president to the legislative, gubernatorial and municipal elections.

Activists who want independence for Puerto Rico challenged the law in local courts on Monday, saying it was passed by the local legislature after midnight Saturday, when the legislature's session had officially ended.

They fear the presidential vote is a step toward making Puerto Rico the 51st U.S. state.

The opposition Popular Democratic Party also has criticized the move, saying it jeopardizes the island's autonomy under the current relationship.