Sun Jul 10, 2016, 08:35 AM

Puerto Ricans in Florida: the 'outsiders' with a powerful swing vote

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Source: Guardian

That number is growing, in part spurred by a recent influx to Florida of Puerto Ricans fleeing the effects of the financial crisis on the island. The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration regional office estimates that 1,000 Puerto Rican families relocate to Florida every month; as a result, the state is poised, for the first time, to edge New York out as the state with the most Puerto Ricans.

________

“Americans don’t see us as US citizens; Americans see all Latinos as Mexicans. Just like we think all Asians are Chinese – they could be Korean, Japanese, Indonesian but we see them and think ‘they’re all Chinese’. Lots of Americans see [Latinos] as all the same.

And though this issues that individual groups of Latinos might be different – from Cuba policy to the financial crisis on Puerto Rico, and from immigration enforcement to raising the minimum wage – they all eventually find themselves bound together by their daily experiences. They aren’t “all the same”; yet they too often all get treated with the same basic disrespect.

But unlike the 11 million undocumented immigrants Donald Trump has promised to deport in his first two years in office, Puerto Ricans are US citizens, and eligible to vote, whether they live in Puerto Rico or on the mainland.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/09/puerto-ricans-florida-election-immigration

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/09/puerto-ricans-florida-election-immigration

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7 replies	Author	Time	Post
Puerto Ricans in Florida: the 'outsiders' with a powerful swing vote (Original post)	Liberal_in_LA	Jul 2016	OP
This is more analysis than it is LBN but,	DonViejo	Jul 2016	#1
But Don't They Become Eligible To Vote When They Change Residency?	Vogon_Glory	Jul 2016	#2
Hell yeah they can vote in FL when they change residency, and they tend to vote Democrat....	markj757	Jul 2016	#3
Yes. My first election in the US was '92. A year after I moved from	Guy Whitey Corngood	Jul 2016	#4
Yes...	DonViejo	Jul 2016	#5
Well, In That Case, Some Mainland Tea-publican Politicians May Be In For A Surprise	Vogon_Glory	Jul 2016	#6
Locking	Chemisse	Jul 2016	#7

Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 08:51 AM

DonViejo (60,536 posts)

1. This is more analysis than it is LBN but,

Puerto Ricans are US citizens, and eligible to vote, whether they live in Puerto Rico or on the mainland

is not necessarily true. Puerto Ricans may vote in Party primaries but, they cannot vote for President in the General Election(s)

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Response to DonViejo (Reply #1)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 09:10 AM

Vogon_Glory (8,642 posts)

2. But Don't They Become Eligible To Vote When They Change Residency?

But don't they become eligible to vote when they change their legal residency from Puerto Rico to Florida, or to New York, or New Jersey or whatever?

If that's the case, that can shift electoral demographics.

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Response to Vogon_Glory (Reply #2)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 09:20 AM

markj757 (194 posts)

3. Hell yeah they can vote in FL when they change residency, and they tend to vote Democrat....

I know if I was Puerto Rican, and listened to some of the loudest and subtly racist voices in the Republican party, that would be an easy call for me.

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Response to Vogon_Glory (Reply #2)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 09:24 AM

Guy Whitey Corngood (25,706 posts)

4. Yes. My first election in the US was '92. A year after I moved from

San Juan to Columbus. I also was eligible to vote absentee in the Island's local elections.

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Response to Vogon_Glory (Reply #2)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 09:32 AM

DonViejo (60,536 posts)

5. Yes...

When I lived in PR I could not vote there in anything other than local elections (Mayor, State Rep/Senate, etc), the Presidential primary and for the PR delegate to the U.S. Congress. Once I changed my residency back to Massachusetts, my voting rights were fully restored. The same would apply to Puerto Rican nationals; live on the island, your voting rights are restricted; move to the continental U.S. (or Hawaii) and you receive full voting rights.

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Response to DonViejo (Reply #5)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 10:11 AM

Vogon_Glory (8,642 posts)

6. Well, In That Case, Some Mainland Tea-publican Politicians May Be In For A Surprise

Well, in that case, some Republican politicians risk having what happened to notorious Republican congressman Robert "B-1 Bob" Dornan happen to them.

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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Sun Jul 10, 2016, 10:22 AM

Chemisse (30,514 posts)

7. Locking

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