John, imagine this: your locally elected officials are doing their job, passing laws that you and your neighbors support.
But then, politicians elected hundreds of miles away – and who aren’t accountable to you or your community at all – overrule you, claiming they have final veto power over anything you and your local government decide.
The people of Washington, D.C. don’t have to imagine that, because it just happened. [1] And, unless Congress finally makes D.C. a state and repairs this injustice, D.C. residents are stuck living under “taxation without representation.”
There’s a bill in Congress right now to fix that – and I need your help to move it to President Biden’s desk. Tell Congress to stop denying D.C. residents equal representation and make D.C. our 51st state today.
The nearly 700,000 people who call D.C. home don’t have a single voting member of Congress to fight for them – because the Framers of the U.S. Constitution failed to provide any means for D.C. residents to be represented in Congress.
John, it’s absurd. D.C. residents bear ALL the responsibilities of full U.S. citizenship – like serving on juries and in the U.S. military, running their own school system, and operating federal programs like SNAP and Medicaid. [2]
They even pay the highest federal taxes per capita, only to have no say in how those tax dollars are spent, and no full voting representation in Congress. [3] Meanwhile, Congress can overturn D.C.’s local laws – a power that they frequently abuse.
Make no mistake: this is voter suppression and racial injustice, plain and simple. Partisan politicians and other proponents of the status quo want to deprive Washingtonians, the majority of whom are Black and Brown, of their right to equal representation – because they think it could give them a political advantage.
It’s past time to give Washingtonians the same fundamental rights that their fellow Americans enjoy. Tell Congress: Pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act and give D.C. residents full and equal voting representation in Congress.
I hope you’ll join me in demanding that every American has a meaningful voice in our democracy.
Thanks for all you do,
Jay Young, Senior Director of Voting & Democracy
and the team at Common Cause
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[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/05/15/house-vote-dc-crimes-act/
[2] https://www.washingtoninformer.com/dc-statehood-frustration-congressional-interference/
[3] https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-says-tax-filing-season-reminder-dc-residents-remain-under-taxation-0
