Photo by Mark Poblete

With this week’s congressional subcommittee hearing on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House, we’ve again started what has become something of a bi-annual tradition for D.C. residents. We complain, Congress goes through the motions on a piece of legislation aimed at correcting a 200-year-old injustice that has left the city’s 600,000 residents without a voting member in Congress, we become hopeful, and eventually Congress ends up not doing anything. Rinse and repeat and you’ve got a day in the life of a disenfranchised D.C. resident. Of course, it’s a new day in Washington, and with a solidly Democratic Congress and a sympathetic president, our chances at getting something are better than ever.

Regardless, Tuesday’s hearing dredged up the usual opposition and alternatives to the current proposal. There was talk of exempting the District from federal taxes, retrocession to Maryland, and going for full statehood. We’ve heard this all before, but for those of you who are newer to the city, this is all news. Click on through for our handy primer on the current debate over D.C. voting rights.