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Cerro de Punta, the highpoint of Puerto Rico (Credit: Ratzer1 | Wikipedia)
Highpointers may have to find a way to reach a 51st highpoint as Puerto Ricans headed to the polls Sunday to vote on a statehood referendum.
Voters were presented with the option to vote for independence/free association, keeping the status quo, or statehood. The result of the vote, known as a plebiscite, is non-binding as the United States Congress would have to formally set forth conditions for statehood, and this not required in response to the vote.
However, let’s go down the rabbit hole and assume that the vote comes back supporting statehood (a strong possibility as many who oppose statehood are boycotting the vote), and Congress votes to extend statehood to Puerto Rico.
If Puerto Rico were to become a state, it’s highpoint is Cerro de Punta, a 4,390 foot mountain in the Cordillera Central, a mountain range that divides the island. On a clear day, San Juan, which is 75 miles away, can be seen.
The mountain’s elevation would place it between Kentucky’s Black Mountain and Vermont’s Mount Mansfield in elevation ranking.
(CNN)Puerto Rico on Sunday overwhelmingly voted for statehood. But Congress, the only body that can approve new states, will ultimately decide whether the status of the US commonwealth changes.
Ninety-seven percent of the votes in the nonbinding referendum favored statehood, an increase over the results of a 2012 referendum, official results from the State Electoral Commission show. It was the fifth such vote on statehood.