It was just two weeks ago that hundreds of District residents gathered to lobby Congress into passing legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House. There seemed to be some momentum; all that was missing was for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to schedule a vote. But as is often the case with the District’s uphill quest for enfranchisement, the legislation has his a snag.

Roll Call, via FreeRide, is reporting today that D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton might have to re-write a key provision of the legislation, thus throwing into question when and if it will ever pass. Central to the legislation was a provision that would grant Utah, a comfortably Republican state, an additional seat, thus mollifying partisan conservatives who would never dream of giving Democrats an extra safe vote. Norton and Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) initially created an at-large seat for Utah, opting thereafter for a traditional new district instead. Now Norton has announced that they may revert back to the at-large option, one fraught with risk in the form of additional constitutional questions. No reason has been given for the change.

We’re keeping the faith here, but this is all a bit frustrating.