Puerto Rico may Decide who Wins

Just try to calculate the popular vote
By Paul West | Washington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON - When Bill Clinton flew to Puerto Rico the other day, it highlighted what may be the most peculiar quirk of the '08 campaign: The people of Puerto Rico cannot vote in the November presidential election, but they could decide whose name appears on the ballot.

Hillary Clinton, in fact, is counting on it.

Her strategy for wooing undecided superdelegates involves running up the score in the remaining primaries. She can't overtake Barack Obama in the delegate count during the primaries and caucuses, but eclipsing him in the popular vote count is still a possibility.

It's "a legitimate question" whether Puerto Rico's primary should be included in the popular vote count, said an Obama spokesman, who did not provide an answer. However, the Obama camp has already included the primary in American Samoa (which also has no electoral votes) in its popular vote tally. Excluding Puerto Rico could well be taken as a slight to Hispanic voters.

The Clinton position is clear. Puerto Rico's 2.3 million registered voters -who have a history of turning out in far higher proportions than U.S. voters -could seal her victory in the popular vote count.

With some polls giving Clinton a double-digit lead in Pennsylvania ahead of next week's primary, she may soon cut into Obama's popular vote advantage. And that could mean things are about to get messier for Democrats. READ MORE