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U.S. appeals court considers vote for Puerto Rico

(CNN) -- A federal appeals court is considering whether to give 2.4 million voters in Puerto Rico a chance to vote in the November presidential elections.

A group of Puerto Rican citizens, led by attorney Gregorio Igartua de la Rosa, sued the United States, arguing that they are U.S. citizens and that they are being denied a right that is available to other citizens.

U.S. District Judge Jaime Pieras agreed in an August 29 ruling that cleared the way for Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Rossello to sign a law allowing islanders to cast their votes.

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However, the U.S. Justice Department argues that those votes should not count because of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution. It says... "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector."

"As we review the law, we see that the Constitution does not provide for a territory to select electors," said Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller.

Harvard Law School professor Heather Gerkin said the courts have upheld the government's position in the past.

"Essentially, both the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which deals with Guam and the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which deals with Puerto Rico, have specifically said that U.S. citizens in those territories do not have a right to elect members to the Electoral College," Gerkin said.

"The argument has been on the books for a while, and it's pretty unusual for a district court in the circuit where there's been a clear ruling on the issue to come up with a contrary ruling," Gerkin said.

Igartua de la Rosa also brought a similar lawsuit that was overturned by the First Circuit in 1994, but the latest lawsuit took a different tack, saying that the right to vote for president is dependent on U.S. citizenship, not on where U.S. citizens live.

When asked about the lawsuit in a September 14 news briefing, Attorney General Janet Reno said Puerto Ricans can vote just as other U.S. citizens can if they are living in a state. Citizens from U.S. states also lose their rights to vote if they move to Puerto Rico.

Puerto Ricans divided over vote

Angel Oquendo, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law, says Puerto Ricans are divided over whether they want to vote.

He said pro-independence activists and supporters of the territory's current arrangement with the U.S. are "wary at best" that the ruling would be a step towards making the island the 51st state.

Legislation that would let Puerto Ricans hold a binding vote on whether to become a state has passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but stalled in the Senate.

Vote could have huge impact on election

If the First Circuit upholds the lower court decision and the Supreme Court does not overturn that ruling, Puerto Rico could have a huge impact on the November 7 elections.

About 2.4 million of Puerto Rico's 3.9 million residents are registered voters - approximately as many as were registered in Colorado, Arizona and Alabama in the 1996 election. The island typically has a voter turnout of more than 80 percent.

Gov. Rossello said Puerto Rico could garner eight electoral votes -- as many as Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman's home state of Connecticut.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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U.S. District Court, Puerto Rico
US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Elections in Puerto Rico

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