While most of the country’s attention is focused on the presidential race following the dramatic debate, the elections to determine the United States Senate and House of Representatives are just as critical, as the legislative bodies have the ultimate power to enact laws, fund government programs, and even declare war.
All 50 states, the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), and some U.S. territories will vote on their representatives for 2025 and beyond.
However, when Washingtonians cast their ballots, they will do so with a significant caveat.
D.C. residents elect a nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives who may sit on committees, participate in debates, and introduce legislation but cannot vote on the House floor. Unlike residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, which also have nonvoting delegates, D.C. residents are subject to all federal taxes.
D.C.’s representative is Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has held the seat since 1991. After winning the Democratic primary in June, the 87-year-old Norton is expected to retain her seat.
According to DC’s New Columbia Statehood Commission, “Statehood is the only remedy that provides full representation in Congress for the residents of Washington, DC.”
The Washington Informer spoke to citizens, politicians, and advocates to gauge how Washingtonians feel about D.C. statehood.
Washington, D.C., Councilmember Christina Henderson spoke to The Washington Informer about D.C. meeting the requirements to be considered a state. “We have more residents than several other states who have two senators. We deserve fair representation like everyone else.”
However, she emphasized that achieving statehood would be a tall task.
“In order for D.C. to get statehood, you need a trifecta: Democrats to control the House, Senate, and a president willing to sign it.”
Appointing the nation’s capital as a state would certainly disrupt the current flow of politics, particularly in the Senate.
“If D.C. was a state and we elected two Democratic senators, it would not be this split in the Senate, which requires the vice president to break so many ties,” said Henderson.
D.C. native Amour Moore felt strongly about D.C. gaining statehood. “I feel like it’s unjust, it’s not fair to the public and not fair to the minority that has to deal with issues, troubles, and new laws that are passed that directly affect them,” Moore said.
Josh Burch, co-founder of Neighbors United for Statehood, echoed those sentiments.
“If our legislature passes a law, Congress can then mess with our budget and say you might have that law in the books, but we’re not going to allow you to fund that… we are still treated like a colony in the United States in 2024.”
Although there is a path to statehood, it would be an expensive one for the district. All staff, including clerks, prosecutors, and judges of the superior court, are part of the Department of Justice, not the District of Columbia, and a new judicial infrastructure would need to be created.
New facilities would also be needed to take on inmates who are currently sent to federal prisons. Currently, in D.C., convicted felons are transferred to one of the 122 Federal Bureau of Prisons because there are no state prisons.
The path to statehood will require many steps, but for the people of Washington, D.C., they are necessary and inherent in the values of the United States.
“The whole point of the United States was taxation without representation, but D.C. residents are being taxed without being represented in Congress,” said D.C. resident Matteo Prian.
This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.
The last attempt to give the District a voting representative was thwarted by a Democratic Senator.
This guy is a special writer, wow! Great piece.