Puerto Rico overwhelmingly votes for possible statehood

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.