The U.S. Virgin Islands territory (population 108,612) is composed of three islands: St. Croix (population 53,234), St. Thomas (population 51,181), and St. John (population 4,197). Residents of the St. Croix, which is the largest island in population and area, claim they don't receive enough government funding. They expect that by being a territory, they would receive more government funds directly.
One key complaint of Cruzans (residents of St. Croix) is that they only have the representation of seven Senators in the fifteen-member unicameral Legislature of the Virgin Islands. The distribution of the members is seven from the District of St. Thomas and St. John; seven from the District of St. Croix; and one at-large (but who must be a resident of St. John.) This distribution effectively gives St. Thomas and St. John eight of the fifteen members, but combined, those two islands do have 51% of the population. The U.S. Virgin Islands has one member in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Nonetheless, there are 27,000 registered voters on St. Croix so thus far, only a minority have signed the petition for change.
