We’re pretty busy following the action in the Senate as it happens, but for those who are interested, the House Judiciary Committee is marking up the House version of the D.C. Voting Rights Act right now (the hearing began at 2 p.m., but they are discussing the bill now). You can stream the hearing live here. Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) said he expected to bring the bill to the House floor…

When legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives came before the House Judiciary Committee last Thursday, all but two Republicans voted against it. One, Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Ut.), would see his state gain an additional seat, so his support was a given. The second, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), was the surprise. Pence has always been a conservative’s conservative, a former leader of the Republican Study Committee (a conservative caucus within…

It may be cold and rainy, but there’s still plenty of reasons to smile on this fine Friday morning. Maryland and Georgetown won, VCU triumphed over Duke in one of those only-in-March exciting final two minutes, and … oooh, right. Sorry about that GWU. Ouch. How are your brackets doing this morning, Washington? More of course will be coming later from our crack team of sportsologists. Voting Rights That Much Closer: DCist already reported on…

The House Judiciary Committee today endorsed legislation granting the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, setting the measure on track for a full vote by the end of the month. Though legal scholars debated the constitutionality of the measure in a hearing before the committee yesterday and a number of amendments were considered today, the legislation easily gained the approval of the Democratic-led committee, 21-13. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Rep. Chris…

How many times have we written this headline, only to be disappointed as another roadblock gets thrown in the way of District voting rights? Far too many times. But we’re a little more optimistic these days. The Post is reporting that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today endorsed the legislation that would finally grant the District a voting representative in the House of Representatives. The vote was 24-5. The legislation is set…

Though the District continued its slow crawl back to normalcy after Tuesday night’s ice storm, hundreds of District residents and supporters fanned out in Congress to lobby for legislation that would grant the city a voting seat in the House of Representatives. Part of a lobby day sponsored by D.C. Vote, the almost 400 residents divided up into 50 teams and aimed to visit every member of the House, bringing with them a simple message…

Last year ended on a bit of a sour note for District voting rights, but activists aren’t letting a little bad news stop them. After being stymied by Republican leaders in the closing weeks of the 109th Congress, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton re-introduced legislation on January 9 to grant the District one voting seat in the House of Representatives. The legislation, known as the Fair and Equal House Voting…

Last week’s hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives seemed to go swimmingly. Mayor-to-be Adrian Fenty and outgoing mayor Anthony Williams played nice among the 200-person crowd, no one on the committee chimed in to argue against the legislation — all seemed to be moving forward. Almost. Committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner has apparently expressed displeasure with a provision of the…

Step by step, inch by inch. That’s how legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives is proceeding, but at least it’s going somewhere. The House Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing today on the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act, a legislative proposal put forth by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton that would finally give the District a full…

When it comes to fighting for District voting rights, activists face two main challengers — the U.S. Congress and themselves. Members of Congress just either don’t care much about whether or not the District’s 600,000 residents have voting representation, or believe its a constitutional mandate written in stone that they shouldn’t. They can be swayed. But many District-based voting right activists differ sharply on what the best approach to gaining voting rights is — some…