Alan Grayson calls for Presidential Vote for Puerto Rico

On Friday, Congressman Alan Grayson filed legislation Friday that calls for a Constitutional amendment that would give the Puerto Rican people the right to vote for President, and provide the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with electors in the Electoral College.
“Three and a half million Americans in Puerto Rico have no say in who serves as President of the United States,” Grayson said in his floor speech “Women and African Americans were once denied this same basic voting right. Now it’s American citizens who reside in Puerto Rico who suffer this disenfranchisement.”
Grayson added that the solution is not unlike the District of Columbia when they were granted electors to the Electoral College, with passage of the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution. Like Puerto Rico now, the District of Columbia was not, and is not a state.
The firebrand progressive is in his final weeks in office after losing a bid for Senate earlier this year. State Senator Darren Soto, a Puerto Rican will succeed him in the Hispanic heavy ninth district.
“This is long overdue. If we ask Puerto Rican men and women to fight and die for our country, we must allow them to choose the Commander in Chief who will decide that fate,” Grayson added “We must give Puerto Ricans the right to vote for President.”
Congressman Alan Grayson
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Alan Grayson calls for Presidential Vote for Puerto Rico

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