Can Puerto Rico vote in 2024? Where the U.S. territory stands after Tony Hinchcliffe's racist Trump rally joke

The push for nan Puerto Rican ballot successful nan U.S. statesmanlike predetermination took halfway shape connected Sunday erstwhile Kamala Harris made her entreaty to Puerto Rican voters nan aforesaid time a comedian astatine Donald Trump's New York City rally made a racist joke astir nan U.S. territory sparking outrage.

 So what are nan rules astir Puerto Ricans voting successful nan 2024 statesmanlike election?

Puerto Ricans are taxpaying U.S. citizens who are capable to vote, but their voting authorities disagree depending connected whether they unrecorded successful Puerto Rico aliases successful 1 of nan 50 U.S. states. 

For those who are residents surviving connected nan island, they do not get to ballot successful nan November statesmanlike election. However, they did person a opportunity choosing nan statesmanlike nominees during nan superior process.

Puerto Rico arsenic good arsenic different U.S. territories do clasp primaries for some awesome governmental parties wherever they are granted delegates. 

While Puerto Ricans surviving successful nan U.S. do not person electoral votes for president successful nan general election, they tin elite practice to Congress. That delegate, however, only gets to ballot successful procedural matters, not connected legislation. 

Puerto Rican citizens person had U.S. citizenship for much than one-hundred years. Once they reside successful a state, they tin registry and ballot successful nan the state's local, authorities and national elections including casting a ballot for president. 

So for those surviving and voting successful immoderate of nan 50 U.S. states, they person important governmental clout arsenic portion of nan cardinal Latino voting bloc travel November.

That's wherever nan entreaty to Puerto Rican voters successful nan statesmanlike predetermination comes into play and could beryllium important to either campaigner winning. 

There are an estimated astir 5.8 cardinal Puerto Ricans surviving successful nan 50 states and District of Columbia including a important number surviving successful battleground states. 

There are much than 1.1 cardinal Puerto Ricans surviving successful Florida followed by much than 1 cardinal surviving successful New York, nan 2 states pinch nan largest Puerto Rican populations, according to census data.

But location are besides much than 466,000 Puerto Ricans surviving successful Pennsylvania, much than 122,000 successful North Carolina, much than 131,000 successful Georgia and 69,000 successful Wisconsin.

On Sunday, nan vice president unveiled her scheme for Puerto Ricans pinch a sojourn to a Puerto Rican edifice successful Pennsylvania to talk her proposal. 

The transportation includes nan creation of an economical task unit wherever nan authorities partners pinch backstage businesses to bring investments and much jobs to nan territory. She has besides called for modernizing nan island's struggling power grid. 

Her connection comes arsenic Harris is looking to statement up support among Latino voters overall. 

The latest ABC News/Ipsos canvass released connected Sunday showed Harris leads Trump 64 percent to 34 percent among Hispanic voters. That's down 1 constituent from nan 2020 exit polls. 

The vice president leads among Hispanic men by 27 points and 32 points among Hispanic women.

While Harris was gathering pinch Puerto Rican voters successful nan Keystone State, Trump was holding a rally astatine Madison Square Garden wherever comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made his racist joke. 

In beforehand of a packed arena, he called Puerto Rico a 'floating land of garbage' conscionable hours earlier nan ex-president took nan stage.

The fallout was accelerated and furious pinch moreover immoderate Republican lawmakers successful states pinch ample Puerto Rican populations, for illustration Florida, denouncing it. 

Hours later, nan Trump run besides tried to region itself from nan joke claiming it does not bespeak Trump's views, but nan ex-president himself did not denounce it successful his address. 

It remains to beryllium seen whether nan harm is lasting, but location was an avalanche of beardown reactions connected Sunday pinch a bid of megastars endorsing Harris and slamming nan Trump rally remarks. 

Among those now publically backing nan vice president is superstar Bad Bunny who shared her connection for Puerto Rico aggregate times connected societal media to his much than 45 cardinal followers.

Singer Jennifer Lopez besides shared nan vice president's connection to immoderate 250 cardinal followers, and Ricky Martin blasted nan clip of nan Hinchcliffe trashing Puerto Rico while backing Harris for president.