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A referendum on becoming a US commonwealth was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 17 June 1975. The proposal was approved by 79% of voters. As a result, the United States Congress approved the change of status on 24 March 1976.
Background
Four previous referendums on either integation with Guam or the islands' status had been held in 1958, 1961, 1963 and 1969. On each occasion a majority had been in favor of integration with Guam. However, the proposal remained unfulfilled, as Guam had rejected integration in a 1969 referendum.
On 20 February 1975 the Northern Marianas' District Legislature put forward proposals to become a US commonwealth. A threshold of 55% in favor was set in order for the referendum to pass.
References
Northern Mariana Islands status referendum, 1975 Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA