[Dilbert San Diego]

Congress has to pass a law to allow a new state to be admitted to the Union.

Or, has Congress already done this with Puerto Rico? So are we at the point where P.R. is in, if its residents vote for it on November 6th?

[hinckley buzzard]

Yes, Congress basically has said, if PR votes for statehood, we will accept them. I can't cite the precise law but recall it rather distinctly, a sort of preemptive approval. This issue has come up every so often, probably every four years, and the result was Congress saying "if they vote to get in, they get in."

You can imagine the political advantages to past Congress critters of passing such a default condition.