A new survey of Puerto Rican voters found striking similarities in most political positions between respondents living in the U.S. territory and the millions of Puerto Ricans on the mainland.
The survey, conducted by progressive researcher Izq Strategies for La Brega and Forçaa project to increase diaspora civic engagement, concluded that both groups of Puerto Ricans generally aligned themselves with more progressive policies.
Seventy percent of island-based respondents support Green New Deal policies, as do 66 percent of those living in the diaspora.
Puerto Rico residents overwhelmingly support Medicare for all: 81 percent said they would like to see the program expanded, and 70 percent of diaspora respondents agreed.
But island residents take a more conservative approach to abortion access – just 47 percent said they support abortion access, while 37 percent said they oppose it.
Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United States are more liberal on this issue, with 59 percent supporting access to abortion.
A 2007 Pew Research survey found that 77 percent of respondents on the island opposed abortion rights, as did 50 percent of respondents in the diaspora.
In the new vote, both inside and outside the island, the majority supports a binding plebiscite to determine the political status of the territory. Among voters residing on the islands, 63 percent said they supported this plebiscite, as did 56 percent of diaspora voters.
Although the poll had relatively small samples — 675 respondents with a margin of error of 4 percentage points in the diaspora and 362 respondents on the island with a margin of error of 6 percentage points — the results show remarkable consistency in political choices between the two groups .
Puerto Rican voters are heavily represented in states such as Florida, Illinois and New York, and are expected to play a major role in deciding the winners in at least one swing state, Pennsylvania.
—Updated at 1:43 p.m.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
