Weekend Rant

Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress "exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever" in a new federal District. In 1790, the Founders annexed three municipalities: Washington and Georgetown in Maryland, and Alexandria in Virginia – and designated them the Seat of the Government of the United States.

In the late 1700s, there was concern about the safety and defense of our young cities. While meeting in Philadelphia, Congress feared attack from unpaid soldiers, but the state of Pennsylvania refused to assure its protection. The Continental Congress decided then to create a federal District so no one state could impose its will upon the seat of the national government. These are the roots of the present-day exclusion of more than 500,000 people from the right to vote for congressional representation.

Citizens of this new “District” were still permitted to vote as residents of either Maryland or Virginia. As the 18th century drew to a close, President John Adams left the temporary capital of Philadelphia and brought the seat of government here to Washington. Far fewer than the 30,000 people needed for a congressional district were here. Most were temporary residents here to do business with Congress; the number of eligible voters was miniscule. The Founders never envisioned a major city with a large permanent population.

In 1800, the right to vote was severely limited. Over the next 200 years that right has been so broadened that the principal “one person, one vote” is something that every child in America is taught.

Today, the federal government is able to protect itself. The residents of the District of Columbia pay federal taxes, serve in the armed forces and have the same concerns about health care, foreign policy, living conditions and education as other citizens. Yet all attempts at statehood have been thwarted by a group of highly partisan elected officials fearful of living with the inbalance created by two new senators, assumed to be Democrats.

To deny a half million Americans the right to vote is immoral, to do it because of partisan politics is unconscionable.

The History of Government and Suffrage in the District of Columbia

DC Voters Rights Questions and Answers.