On the recordMarch 4, 1998
for example, let us say it turns out commonwealth gets 46 percent, statehood gets 43 percent, and the remaining goes for a sovereign nation. Then you would have the runoff of the commonwealth and the statehood. Those people who believe in independence would probably support Commonwealth, and it would move to probably 53 or 54 percent. So then we in Congress would know immediately that they prefer the commonwealth or independence alternative rather than statehood. I think that information is very important for the people in Puerto Rico to know and important for Members of Congress to know when we determine whether this country should move forward to statehood. It is another critical piece of information. It gives democracy a chance to work, and gives the people who support independence an opportunity to vote again.
Source
govinfo.gov
