A referendum on how many chambers the Legislative Assembly should have was held in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

on July 10, 2005. The proposed change to a

unicameral legislature Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

was supported by 83.94% of those voting, although

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was just 22.58%.Puerto Rico, 10 July 2005: Uni- or Bicameral system
Direct Democracy However, another referendum would have to be held to approve the specific

amendments An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

that are required for the change. The

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

subsequently let the bill die, so the changes were not realised. Had the changes been approved, the legislature would have become unicameral from 2009 onwards.

Campaign

The

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ...

supported the victorious "yes" vote in favor of one chamber. The Popular Democratic Party did not take an official stance on the matter, with its leadership supporting or opposing the measure. The New Progressive Party opposed the constitutional amendment under electoral review, but supported abstention from the vote.

Results

References

External links

State Commission of Elections of Puerto Rico
2005 2005 in Puerto Rico 2005 referendums 2005 ballot measures 2005 Puerto Rico elections July 2005 events in North America {{Caribbean-election-stub