For the second time in five years, devastating infrastructure failure in Puerto Rico after a hurricane has raised the question of governmental status of the Caribbean island, a U.S. territory whose residents can’t vote for president or for voting members of Congress. More than 1 million customers remained without electricity, and nearly half of a major water authority's customers lacked running water in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. The island's fragile power grid and infrastructure result from a lack of political power because of inadequate governmental representation, critics say. This year, House Democrats introduced a bill that would give Puerto Rico residents, who are U.S. citizens, a self-determination vote. Proposed changes include statehood or independence. Puerto Rico has given its residents the opportunity to express their opinion on the island's governmental status, holding various nonbinding votes on its relationship to the United States. In a 2020 ballot measure that asked a single question about statehood, 52.3% of voters said they favored Puerto Rico becoming a state.