July 26, 2006
District Voting Rights Bill Moves Forward
It was mid-May when we found out that a bill that would grant the District a voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives was finally moving forward, having met with the approval of the House Government Reform Committee. Yesterday news came through that the legislation -- known as the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act -- may soon overcome another obstacle, putting the District one step closer to voting representation in the U.S. Congress.
According to our friends over at D.C. Vote, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) announced yesterday that the Subcommittee on the Constitution would review the legislation on September 16, 2006, a necessary step towards it being eventually considered by the full House. District voting rights activists expressed happiness with the news, given that Sensenbrenner has never been much of a fan of the proposal. Ilir Zherka, D.C. Vote's executive director, stated:
A hearing for the DC Voting Rights Act is another great stride forward in the movement, and we are thrilled Congress is getting the message that Americans want to see progress on this bill.We're cautiously optimistic. A hearing and a markup hardly means a vote, and even if there were a vote, they may well just vote the legislation down. But a hearing is still a chance for voting rights activists to present their cause for what it is -- a principled demand for the full democratic rights of all U.S. citizens. Hopefully the members of the committee will listen.Leaders of organizations, elected officials and-perhaps most importantly-everyday people have conveyed to Congress the tremendous need to give DC a vote. We commend Congress for listening to the uproar of strong national support for DC voting rights. We welcome the opportunity to amplify our voices at the hearing in September.
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I support voting rights for DC 100%, but I just can't see how a law like this can be constitutional. Article I is pretty explicit about the makeup of the House: "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States." I don't see how you're going to get around that barring a constitutional amendment.
Speaking of which, I've always wondered why the 23rd amendment stopped at Presidential electors and didn't go all the way to Congressional representation. Apparently back then people were more sane about this stuff, so it's too bad.
"the several States."
That phrase was the basis of one of the lawsuits filed about this. They apply that phrase to DC in regard to taxation and military service, but not to voting rights. Either we are or we are not included in it.