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Puerto Rico Quiz Answers

1. What are the two official languages of Puerto Rico? Spanish and English

2. Are U.S. citizens?

Yes. Under Section 302 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, people born in Puerto Rico have the same birthright American citizenship as people born in the 50 states. (Puerto Ricans born from April 11, 1899, to Jan. 13, 1941, became citizens when the act was passed.)

3. Can Puerto Ricans vote for the U.S. president?

You might think so, given that they are citizens, but on the biggest stage, the answer is no. Puerto Rico has no representation in the Electoral College, so its people cannot vote in general presidential elections unless they establish residency in one of the 50 states. It does, however, have a say in presidential nominations: Last year, won the Republican primary there, and Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary.

4. Are Puerto Ricans represented in Congress?

Puerto Rico has a delegate in the House of Representatives who serves on and votes in committees but cannot vote on the House floor; that position is currently held by Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican. This makes Puerto Rico’s representation in Congress identical to , D.C.’s, though Washington’s legal status is different.

5. Do Puerto Ricans pay U.S. taxes?

Most people in Puerto Rico don’t pay federal income taxes, but they do pay Social Security, , import, export and commodity taxes. Their federal tax bills add up to more than $3 billion a year.

6. How big is Puerto Rico, compared to the 50 states? If it were a state, what would its size ranking be? (Rhode , the smallest state, is 1 and is 50.)

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Puerto Rico is larger than and , so it would rank number 3 in size.

7. How many people live in Puerto Rico? (Here’s a hint - its population is bigger than 21 states, including and .)

Puerto Rico has a population of 3.4 million people.

8. Why isn’t Puerto Rico a state?

There is a longstanding statehood movement in Puerto Rico, and five have been held on the subject. In the most recent one, which was held in June and had very low turnout, 97 percent of the votes cast were in favor of statehood. The was nonbinding, however, and it is ultimately up to Congress to decide whether to admit Puerto Rico as a state.

After the vote, Rosselló, a Democrat, chose two senators and five representatives — the numbers Puerto Rico would have based on its population — to go to Washington and demand to be seated. But Congress hasn’t acted and is not likely to do so in the foreseeable future.

Source: Puerto Rico: What Other Should Know