Puerto Rico's governor said the U.S. territory has overwhelmingly chosen statehood.
Residents went to the polls on Sunday and voted to become the 51st state.
Nearly half a million votes were cast for statehood, more than 7,600 for free association/independence and nearly 6,700 for independence. The participation rate was nearly 23 percent with roughly 2.26 million registered voters
However, a low turnout and a boycott by several opposition parties have called to question the validity of the non-binding vote.
The U.S. Congress has the final say on changes to the U.S. territory's political status regardless of the referendum's outcome.