Puerto Rico votes to seek statehood

Puerto Rico for the first time Tuesday voted to seek statehood within the United States, passing a nonbinding resolution asking the U.S. Congress to consider changing the status of the Caribbean island.

According to results from The Associated Press, 54 percent of Puerto Ricans said they wanted to change their territorial relationship with the United States while 46 percent preferred the current association with the American government, with 96 percent of precincts reporting.

Voters were also asked to choose how that change would be implemented: More than 6 in 10 favored statehood, while a third backed "sovereign free association," a path that would grant Puerto Rico more autonomy. Full independence attracted 5 percent of the vote.

But while both President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney said they supported Puerto Rico's ballot initiative, it is unclear whether the U.S. Congress will act on the resolution.

In 2011, Obama said he would respect "a clear decision" of Puerto Rico voters on the issue.

But the initiative may be stalled by the apparent defeat of Gov. Luis Fortuno, the pro-statehood governor who was a rising star within the Republican Party. Fortuno lost to challenger Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who has advocated maintaining the current semiautonomous relationship, by less than 1 percentage point, according to initial election returns.

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