In Support of the District of Columbia Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act

The following resolution was adopted by the DNC Resolutions Committee at its meeting on February 1, 2007, in conjunction with the meetings of the Democratic National Committee, February 1-3, 2007.

Submitted by:
Donna Brazile, At-Large/DC
Anita Bonds, Chair/District of Columbia
Marilyn Tyler Brown, District of Columbia
Arrington Dixon, District of Columbia
Ben Johnson, At-Large/DC
Lottis Shackelford, DNC Vice Chair/Arkansas
Mike Honda, DNC Vice Chair/California
Susan W. Turnbull, DNC Vice Chair/Maryland
Renee’ Gill Pratt, Louisiana
Ben Jeffers, At-Large/Louisiana
Terry Lierman, Chair, Maryland
James Metcalfe, Chair, Alaska
Christine Pelosi, California
John Perez, California
Mirian Saez, At-Large/California
James Zogby, At-Large/DC

Resolution in Support of the District of Columbia Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act

WHEREAS, the principle that U. S. citizens have the inalienable right to shape the laws under which they live is a cornerstone of our democracy, but citizens of the District of Columbia do not have voting representation in the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate; and

WHEREAS, residents of the District of Columbia pay the second highest per capita federal income taxes in the nation and have sent nearly two hundred thousand sons and daughters to war, yet they have no say with respect to federal tax legislation or military spending and are the only residents of a national capital in any democracy in the world without full voting rights; and

WHEREAS, when the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789, it contemplated that the right to vote would be enjoyed “by people of the several states,” at a time when all U.S. citizens lived in a state, and it was not until 1801, when the District of Columbia was created out of lands ceded by Maryland and Virginia pursuant to statute adopted in 1791, that D.C. residents lost their federal voting rights; and

WHEREAS, it is an abomination that citizens of the District of Columbia have been denied a full vote in the Congress and thereby effectively disenfranchised since 1801; and

WHEREAS, there is no reason to believe that the framers of the U.S. Constitution intended for District residents to be deprived of full voting rights and there is no rational nor legitimate reason that citizens residing in U.S. capital should be deprived of full representation in Congress; and

WHEREAS, the D.C. Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act, introduced as H.R. 5388 in the 109th Congress, and will be reintroduced early in the 110th Congress, is bipartisan legislation that would extend to D.C. residents full voting rights in the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, the D.C. Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act is foundational legislation which will pave the way for future laws that will enable residents of the District of Columbia to enjoy full and equal rights currently enjoyed by other Americans;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Democratic National Committee fully supports the passage of the D.C. Fair and Equal Voting Rights Act and pledges to join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and other members of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in seeking quick passage of this historic legislation during the 110th Congress.

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