Puerto Rican constitutional referendum, 2012

A constitutional referendum was held in Puerto Rico on 19 August 2012. Voters were asked whether they approve of two amendments to the constitution; one to eliminate the absolute right to bail and the other to decrease the number of members of the Legislative Assembly. Despite support from the party in government and part of the main opposition party, both amendments were rejected by voters.

On January 9, 2012, Puerto Rican Governor Luis Fortuño signed the project for a Legislative Reform that would reduce the number of legislators. According to Fortuño, this would result in a decrease in the expenses associated with the operation of the Legislative Assembly. To achieve this, the constitution has to be amended, which would require a referendum to the people.

On May 10, 2012, the Senate approved a resolution that proposed another amendment to the Constitution, this time to eliminate the absolute right to bail, specifically in murder cases, and others. Governor Fortuño signed the resolution on May 15, agreeing to hold the referendum for both constitutional amendments on August 19, 2012.

Former Governors Rafael Hernández Colón, Carlos Romero Barceló, and Pedro Rosselló, had tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the absolute right for bail during their tenures. Rosselló was the only one to hold a referendum in 1994, but people voted against the amendment.

The first amendment applies to Article III, Sections 2, 3, 4, and 7. It proposes to reduce the members of the Legislative Assembly from 78 to 56. Specifically:

This would require increasing the amount of senatorial districts from 8 to 11, while reducing the representative districts from 40 to 33.

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