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Puerto Rico: Commonwealth Election Law and Its Application to a Political Status Referendum

HRD-90-60 Published: May 02, 1990. Publicly Released: May 02, 1990.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Puerto Rico's electoral law and proposed status referendum.

Recommendations

Matter for Congressional Consideration

Matter Status Comments
S. 712 is not clear as to the extent to which federal law would apply to the status referendum. Because of this, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources may wish to consider amending section 101(d) of the bill to specify that federal laws applicable to the election of Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner shall apply.
Closed – Implemented
H.R. 4765, approved August 3, 1990 by the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, specifies that the federal laws applicable to the election of Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner shall apply to the referendum. S. 244, introduced January 23, 1991, also contains a provision implementing the recommendation.

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Electionsstate relationsInteragency relationsPolitical activitiesPolitical contributionsPolitical representationPolitical rightsProposed legislationTerritories and possessionsVoting records