Igartua v. U.S., 09-2186

Puerto Rican citizen's suit claiming right to vote for a Representative to the US House of Representatives from Puerto Rico

Igartua v. U.S., 09-2186, concerned a challenge to the district court's dismissal of the complaint, in plaintiff's putative class action suit claiming that U.S. citizen-residents of Puerto Rico have a right to vote for a Representative to the U.S. House of Representatives from Puerto Rico and a right to have Representatives from Puerto Rico in that body.

In affirming, the court held that the text of the U.S. Constitution grants the ability to choose, and so to vote for, members of the House of Representatives to "the People of the several States," and since Puerto Rico is not a state, and cannot be treated as a state under the Constitution for these purposes, its citizens do not have a constitutional right to vote for members of the House of Representatives.  Further, plaintiff's claim that international law requires a contrary result is foreclosed by the decision in plaintiff's last case.

Related Link:

• Read the First Circuit's Full Decision in Igartua v. U.S., 09-2186