ASHINGTON - When Gregorio Igartua left the United States for his homeland of Puerto Rico, he was dismayed he could no longer vote in US presidential elections. ''If I had moved to Russia, I could vote by absentee ballot, but not in Puerto Rico even though I am a US citizen,'' Igartua said.
Now, in the culmination of a decade-long battle, Igartua is set to arrive in a federal courtroom in Boston in two weeks to argue that the citizens of Puerto Rico, a US territory of 3.9 million people, should be able to vote for president. The stakes are enormous: If Igartua, the attorney in the case, wins in the Boston appeals court - and the ruling is not overturned by the Supreme Court - Puerto Rico theoretically could gain eight electoral votes, which could alter the outcome of a tight presidential contest.
Even if Igartua loses, the case could leave its mark on the presidential race, because it is being closely watched by Puerto Ricans who reside in the 50 states. Igartua has already won a preliminary ruling in his favor in Puerto Rico, but now the Clinton administration is appealing that ruling to the Boston court, arguing that Puerto Ricans have no right to vote unless they move to a state. Igartua moved back to Puerto Rico from Virginia in 1978.
''I think that if Hispanics in the United States learned that the [Clinton administration] doesn't want us to vote, that will affect the Hispanic Democratic vote,'' Igartua said. And if he wins the case, Igartua said, ''there is a chance that we will decide the outcome of the elections.''
Indeed, the Puerto Rican Legislature recently authorized the first US presidential vote in the island's history on the presumption that Igartua will win his case. Ballots are being printed and campaigns are being readied, all in hopes of a favorable ruling in Boston.
Both Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore have declined to take a position on whether Puerto Rico should participate in the election, noting that the matter is before the courts. Both candidates have identical positions on Puerto Rico, saying they would back statehood if a majority of voters on the island support it. Both campaigns have taken steps to prepare for the possibility of a campaign on the island, signing up volunteers and organizers.
All of this has put the Clinton administration in an awkward position of fighting to block a Puerto Rican constituency that is normally an ally. Indeed, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Rossello, is Gore's campaign manager on the island. The island also is a large source of campaign contributions, with about 77 percent of the $3 million given to the two major parties in the current election cycle going to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Many Democrats, including members of the Kennedy family, make regular trips to Puerto Rico to gather contributions for themselves and the party.
If Puerto Rico were allowed to vote, ''it would probably be to the Democrats' benefit, no question about it,'' said Juan A. Figueroa, president of the New York-based Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is not affiliated with the case. Win or lose, Figueroa says, the case ''will highlight the inconsistencies and almost irrationality of the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.''
In any case, Figueroa said, the approximately 3 million Puerto Ricans who live in the 50 states will be an important voting bloc. Whatever happens with the case, Figueroa said, ''we will be a decisive factor.''
Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, said the administration has no choice but to fight the case.
''There is just no provision for US citizens who reside in US territories to vote,'' Miller said. ''Tomorrow you could move to Puerto Rico and lose your franchise. A Puerto Rican can move to any state and they can vote. It is the ground they stand on, not the individual.''
Igartua's case had been considered a long shot because he lost a similar effort in 1994. But on Aug. 29, a US judge in Puerto Rico reconsidered the case and ruled in Igartua's favor, saying the right to vote is ''a function of citizenship and a fundamental right.''
Moreover, US District Judge Jaime Pieras of Puerto Rico said, the residents of the District of Columbia, which is neither a state nor a territory, have been given an exemption allowing them to vote. The District of Columbia won that exemption in 1961 under the 23d Amendment to the Constitution, which made no mention of Puerto Rico.
Since losing the ruling last month in Puerto Rico, the Justice Department has given the matter top priority, urging the US Court of Appeals in Boston to resolve it before the Nov. 7 election.
The US Constitution says that members of the Electoral College, which technically is responsible for picking a president, come from ''each state,'' Justice officials contend.
As a territory, Puerto Rico has no US senators or representatives, only a ''resident commissioner'' in the US House. But if Puerto Rico wins in Boston, it might try to secure the right to have senators and representatives.
In a motion for reversal, the Justice Department has filed a motion that says the ruling was in ''obvious error ... summary disposition is particularly necessary in this case, since the district court's decision affects the November presidential election as well as the ongoing presidential campaign.''
At the very least, the case has highlighted Puerto Rico's unusual status. With a larger population than 25 states have, Puerto Rico has considerable political potential. The Puerto Rican government figures that population would entitle the island to eight electoral votes. To become president, a candidate needs 270 votes. Maine has four electoral votes, Connecticut has eight, and Massachusetts has 12.
But Puerto Ricans are not unified in wanting the right to vote for president. Many advocates of statehood strongly favor Igartua's case, but the Puerto Rican Independence Party opposes him. Fernando Martin, vice president of the Independence Party, said Igartua's case is a means of arguing for statehood.
''This has 99 percent to do with local politics,'' said Martin, a Harvard-educated lawyer. He scoffed at Rossello for running Gore's campaign in Puerto Rico, saying that is ''like being the chief of the bobsled team of Fiji. There is no presidential election of any sort in Puerto Rico. There is a lot of the theater of the absurd here.''
