Victory: A Big Step for D.C. Voting Rights

April 20, 2007

On April 19, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 241-177 to approve a full voting seat in the House for the residents of the nation's capital.

Currently, the nearly 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia do not have any voting representation in Congress. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a longtime advocate for social justice, is permitted to participate in debate on the House floor, but cannot cast a vote on legislation that affects her constituents.

Next the Senate will take up the bill, in what is expected to be a fierce battle. The likelihood that George W. Bush will sign the bill, should it pass the Senate, is slim.

"Every woman and man in the U.S. deserves representation in our federal government," said NOW President Kim Gandy, who was a disenfranchised resident of D.C. for 17 years. "In an example of democracy at work, the voters ushered in a new Congress last year, and those legislators are helping to end 'taxation without representation' and restore justice to the residents of the District of Columbia."

Read more.

View Del. Norton's powerful remarks on the House floor