January 9, 2007:  One of the first pieces of legislation introduced in the 110th Congress was the new DC Voting Rights Act, HR 328 with Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Tom Davis (R-VA) as lead sponsors.  Although the House Democrats, unaccountably, did not include this bill in their first 100 hours agenda, we are looking for it to come up soon in the House Judiciary Committee.  The chair of that committee, John Conyers (D-MI) has expressed his strong support for the measure.

Watch for details of two key events: a lobby day on February 15th and a march on April 17th down Pennsylvania Ave. in DC in support of DC voting rights.

December 6, 2006: Congress has just hours left to pass the DC Voting Rights Act.  The House leadership is refusing to allow a vote to give DC citizens representation in Congress, citing vague constitutional problems with a bill that simply implements a fundamental right of all Americans.

October 17, 2006: Congress left town for the elections before passing the DC Voting Rights Act.  But they're coming back in November and there is still a real opportunity to pass this historic bill.  Go to our Action Center and tell your Representative to support this bill.

September 25, 2006: We're down to the wire.  A lot of behind-the-scenes negotiating going on.  We still need your calls and emails in support of the DC Voting Rights Act.  Congress leaves town this week, but they'll be back after Election Day, so there's still time to make this happen.  Go to our Action Center and tell your Representative to support this bill.

September 18, 2006:  This week is critical for the DC Voting Rights Act.  The subcommittee hearing last week was packed with activists, DC elected officials and civil rights icon Dorothy Height.  All four witnesses, even those questioning some provisions of the bill, said that DC's lack of representation in Congress is an outrage.  Now, the full Judiciary Committee needs to bring the bill up and vote for it - and move it on to a vote in the full House before Congress leaves town. 

September 7, 2006: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on the DC Voting Rights Act on September 14.  We need to pack the room, so please join us on Thursday, September 14 at 2:00 in Room 2141 of the House Rayburn Office Building on Independence Ave. in Washington, DC.

If you can't attend, you can  go to our Action Center and tell your Representative to support this bill.

July 26, 2006: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution will hold a hearing on the DC Voting Rights Act on September 14.  But still no promise of a vote on the bill.  Go to our Action Center and tell your Representative to support this bill.

July 24, 2006: The House Judiciary Committee could vote on HR 5388, DC Voting Rights Act this week.  The committee will be meeting to vote on several bills.  We are urging the committee chair, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), to "markup" HR 5388.

May 17, 2006:   The Government Reform Committee voted 29-4 in favor of HR 5388 on May 18, 2006.

Last week, Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) and DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) announced that they had reached agreement on historic legislation providing DC citizens with a voting representative in the House of Representatives.

The bill, HR 5388, DC Voting Rights Act, will be voted on in the Government Reform Committee on Thursday, May 18.

We believe this bill is a fair and politically viable way of correcting an injustice that has existed for over 200 years. The committee has an opportunity to make history, to bring more than half million Americans fully into our democracy, where they belong.

The citizens of the District of Columbia deserve the same right that all other Americans have to be represented in Congress.  DC residents pay federal income taxes, serve on juries, and die in wars to defend American democracy.  DC citizens are currently serving in the armed forces in Iraq, fighting for new democratic rights for Iraqis that they do not enjoy themselves. The DC Voting Rights Act is supported by the DC City Council and the Mayor.  Outside of DC, most Americans express surprise that this injustice still exists and believe that DC residents deserve voting representation in Congress.

H.R. 5388 is a unique approach to a problem that has remained unresolved for most of our nation’s history. The compromise forged by Representative Davis and Delegate Norton recognizes that partisan political considerations have always entered into issues that are fundamentally about fairness and justice. H.R. 5388 is a unique approach to a problem that has remained unresolved for most of our nation’s history. The compromise forged by Representative Davis and Delegate Norton recognizes that partisan political considerations have always entered into issues that are fundamentally about fairness and justice. As when Alaska and Hawaii were added to the union, HR 5388 increases the size of the House by two seats, giving one to DC and the other to Utah, which came close to gaining an extra seat after the 2000 reapportionment.

For more information on the issue, go to the excellent website of the coalition leader, DC Vote (see link in right column).

March 24, 2006: We are now working to pass innovative and politically pragmatic legislation that we think is the best opportunity for DC to gain a vote in Congress. Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) has introduced legislation that recognizes the most likely way to succeed is to make certain that neither political party gains an advantage, an approach that worked when Alaska and Hawaii joined the union. Rep. Davis' legislation gives DC a voting member in the House (likely to be a Democrat) and gives a temporary additional seat to Utah (likely to be a Republican); House membership would rise to 437 until after the 2010 census, at which point DC will keep its one seat and Utah's allotment of US House seats will be determined through Census figures, just like all the other states.

Rep. Davis' bill is about to be considered in committee and then could go to the full House for a vote.  Time is critical.  We need your help now to get some members of the House from both parties to cosponsor Rep. Davis' legislation.  We need your emails/calls/letters to show them how important this issue is to Americans all over the country.  Go to our action center to email your Representative now.  Thank you.

And keep our petition drive for DC voting rights going.  15,000 people have signed our petition in August to  give residents of the District of Columbia a vote in Congress. If you haven't signed, it's not too late. You can find the petition by going to the following link.  Sign it today and  pass it on to everyone you know.

August 24, 2005:  Thanks to all of you who signed our petition in August to give residents of the District of Columbia a vote in Congress. If you haven't signed, it's not too late. You can find the petition by going to the following link. Sign it today and pass it on to everyone you know:

We are now working to pass innovative and politically pragmatic legislation that we think is the best opportunity for DC to gain a vote in Congress. Representative Tom Davis (R-VA) has introduced legislation that recognizes the most likely way to succeed is to make certain that neither political party gains an advantage, an approach that worked when Alaska and Hawaii joined the union. Rep. Davis' legislation gives DC a voting member in the House (likely to be a Democrat) and gives a temporary additional seat to Utah (likely to be a Republican); House membership would rise to 437 until after the 2010 census, at which point DC will keep its one seat and Utah's allotment of US House seats will be determined through Census figures, just like all the other states.

We need your help now to get some key members from both chambers of Congress - especially Republicans - to cosponsor Rep. Davis' legislation.  We believe the following members of the House may be open to sponsoring Rep. Davis' legislation, but we need your calls to show them how important this issue is to Americans all over the country.  Please call the following House members today and urge them to cosponsor Rep. Davis' bill:

• DE-At Large: Rep. Michael Castle - (202) 225-4165
• NH-2: Rep. Charles Bass - (202) 225-5206
• NJ-3: Rep. Jim Saxton - (202) 225-4765
• NY-13: Rep. Vito Fossella - (202) 225-3371
• PA-9: Rep. Bill Shuster - (202) 225-2431

After you have called the House members' offices, please call the following Senators and ask them to support Davis' legislation by introducing a companion bill in the Senate:

• UT: Sen. Orrin Hatch - (202) 224-5251
• UT: Sen. Robert Bennett - (202) 224-5444
• KS: Sen. Sam Brownback - (202) 224-6521
• OH: Sen. George Voinovich - (202) 224-3353
• OH: Sen. Mike DeWine - (202) 224-2315

Please make these 10 calls today and urge everyone you know to join our campaign for DC Vote.

As we have mentioned before, DC residents pay taxes, fight and die in wars - including the one in Iraq - and live and work in the city that houses the United Stations Congress, yet they have no real voice in the institution that represents all other Americans.  This is not right.  You can help bring democracy to all Americans by calling these members of Congress and reminding them that the citizens of our nation's capital deserve a vote in Congress too.

Help Bring Full Democracy Home to Washington DC 

August 2:  Americans are taught early on in school that we get a voice in government by voting in our democracy. But try telling that to the residents of the District of Columbia.

Common Cause is launching a petition drive urging our senators and representatives to support voting representation in Congress for Washington DC residents.

The half-million people who live in our nation's capital have gone more than 200 years without representation in Congress. That's right, these residents who pay taxes, fight and die in wars, including the one in Iraq and live and work in the city that houses the United States Congress, have no senators or House members who represent them. They have no real voice in the institution that represents all other Americans. This is not right and it must end.

Common Cause is launching a petition drive urging our senators and representatives to support voting representation in Congress for Washington DC residents.

Sign our petition today and pass it on to your family and friends. We want to gather 50,000 petitions by Labor Day, and deliver them to the Congress.

Ironically, it took an international group meeting in Washington, DC earlier this summer to point out this injustice.  The group voted in support of a resolution calling on the United States to give Washington residents voting representation in Congress.

It's appalling that it takes foreign visitors to remind America about this outrage. 
With the United States now preaching democracy around the world, we should have full democracy in the nation's capital.

If the citizens of Baghdad can proudly show off their purple-inked fingers proving they voted, surely the citizens of DC should be able to do the same. Sign our petition today, and please pass it on to everyone you know.

International Pressure for DC Voting Rights

July 6: This week a committee of international legislators that promotes human rights and democracy all over the world approved a resolution that included support of DC voting rights.  The resolution was sponsored by U.S. House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents DC but has no voting power.  Advocates of DC voting rights hope that this will further pursuade Congress to enact legislation giving residents of DC a vote in Congress.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is made up of legislators from 55 countries, primarily from Europe but also includes the the United States.  This year's annual meeting was held in Washington where 60 legislators participated including six from the United States.

The resolution "calls on the Congress of the United States to adopt such legislation as may be necessary to grant the residents of Washington DC equal voting rights in their national legislature in accordance with its human dimension commitments"

U.S. Congress Threatens DC Handgun Laws

July 1: The U.S. House of Representatives voted 259-161 on H.R. 1288, a bill that would repeal funding for enforcement of the District's 29-year old handgun laws, considered the strictest in the nation.  Mark Souder (R-IN) was the sponsor of the bill. Common Cause opposes interference by Congress in the District's regulatory affairs and supports the District to create their own law regarding public safety.