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Two amendments to the Constitution of Puerto Rico, proposed by the administration of Governor Pedro Rosselló, were rejected by the electorate in a referendum held on November 6, 1994. The amendment to eliminate the absolute right to bail was rejected by a margin of 712,291 votes against (53.6%) to 605,866 in favor (45.6%), while the amendment to increase the number of Supreme Court judges was defeated by 718,373 votes against (54.0%) to 595,425 in favor (44.8%). The turnout rate was 62.6% of all registered voters. These amendments had been endorsed by the ruling New Progressive Party (PNP), whereas the two opposition parties, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), along with numerous civic and religious groups, argued against their adoption. Both amendments were rejected in seven of the eight Senate districts, 34 of the 40 House of Representatives districts, and 68 of the Island's 78 municipalities. Only the 1st and 6th House districts (the former located in the San Juan Senate district and the latter in the Bayamón Senate district), along with seven municipalities (Ciales, Guaynabo, Loíza, Maricao, Moca, Río Grande and Villalba) voted in favor of both proposals. Meanwhile, the Bayamón Senate district, three of its House districts (the 7th, 8th and 9th), plus the 37th House district (located in the Carolina Senate district), and the municipalities of Bayamón, Corozal and Fajardo favored eliminating the absolute right to bail, but opposed increasing the number of Supreme Court judges. Percentwise, the most supportive constituency to both proposals was the municipality of Loíza, as it voted in favor of eliminating the absolute right to bail by a margin of 53.8% to 44.8%, while at the same time endorsing the proposed increase of Supreme Court judges by a margin of 53.4% to 44.5%. By contrast, the municipality of Sabana Grande registered the widest margins against both proposals, as it rejected the bail proposal by a margin of 64.6% to 34.6%, while at the same time voting against the Supreme Court proposal by 64.9% to 33.8%. |