D.C. CONGRESSIONAL VOTE

D.C. folks really care,
And it seems only fair
That they have a Congressional vote.
While it's coming to them, we note,
With the Constitution it doesn't square.


USA Today, 27 February 2009:

For D.C., getting vote is 'a respect thing'

Senate bill would grant seat in House

"... District of Columbia residents have never had what Americans in all 50 states do: A voting member of Congress."

"Resentment over their exclusion could soon fade as Congress moves closer to giving the district its first full seat in the House of Representatives. The bill, which President Obama has said he will sign into law if it reaches him, puts the city of 600,000 on the cusp of historic change."

"District residents have been fighting for voting rights since 1801, when Congress took control of the newly created capital. It wasn't unil 1964 that residents were able to cast presidential ballots, and it took nearly another decade for Congress to pass the Home Rule Act, allowing for the direct election of the mayor and other city officials."

"Although the district has elected a representative since the 1970s, that House delegate can vote only in committees."

"Hopes for a true spot in the people's chamber soared Thursday when the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that would expand the 435-member House by two seats. The bill, like one senators killed two years ago, would give the district a vote on the House floor beginning in January 2011. To offset the likely election of a Democrat, the bill would add a fourth seat for predominately Republican Utah, which narrowly missed out on an extra spot after the 2000 Census."

"Even with growing support, some senators and scholars have pointed out that Washington is a city and the U.S. Constitution says the House should consist of members chosen 'by people of the several states.'"

"George Washington Univesity law professor Jonathan Turley insists the bill is 'flagrantly unconstitutional' and ultimately doomed."

"'What these (lawmakers) are doing is extremely dangerous and destabilizing for our system of government,' Turley said."