Congress must now approve voting representation for DC residents

Utah Legislature passes redistricting plan that would allow it to happen

The citizens of the District of Columbia are a step closer tonight to gaining the right that other Americans take for granted: voting representation in Congress. Today, the Utah State Legislature and Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. took a necessary first step in completing a new redistricting map for the state of Utah that is fair to both parties. That new map includes the additional congressional district that will be part of legislation giving DC its own voting seat in the US House of Representatives.

“Now is the time for the US House to step up and pass historic legislation giving voting representation to more than a half million Americans who live in Washington DC,” said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. “There is little time left in the 109th Congress, but there is no excuse for delaying the end of taxation without representation for citizens of the District. Promises of action in the next Congress are not enough. DC has been waiting for more than 200 years to gain a voting voice in the US House and has been disappointed over and over again. This is an opportunity that may not come again.”