Puerto Rico's governor said yesterday that the island's vote in favor of becoming a U.S. state, despite low voter turnout and widespread boycotts, was "a fair and open" process that U.S. Congress should act upon, Reuters reported. An island-wide referendum on Sunday favored statehood in a 97 percent landslide, though voter turnout reached just 23 percent as opponents of Governor Ricardo Rossello's push to become a state boycotted the vote. The non-binding plebiscite is not expected to sway the U.S. Congress, which would have to agree to make Puerto Rico a state. Currently a U.S. territory, the island is struggling with $70 billion in debt and a 45 percent poverty rate, and is not viewed as a priority in Washington, D.C.
