Is the Right to Vote Truly a National Principle?

One of the founding principles of the United States is no taxation without representation. From the moment of independence landholding citizens of age had the right to vote. It was then expanded to all male citizens and later to all citizens, both male and female of age. In the 60s great efforts were taken to expose and rectify laws that made it difficult for African American citizens to vote.

Those who are imprisoned are unable to vote while in prison and for a period after. I can understand that since in the United States a large portion of the judges, Sheriffs and all the DAs are elected. As such these individuals can readily become victims of retaliatory voting by those convicted of a crime.

Today there continues to be a pocket of citizens who are unable to vote in federal elections. Though they live in a 21 square mile area in the heart of the country they are structurally and intentionally denied by Congress and the States from being able to have a voice in Congress or to vote for the President. The refusal of the country to address this injustice is deplorable. For a country that prides itself on the electoral process as a founding principle and tried to bring democracy to foreign lands, the lack of concern within the citizenry to push their elected State and Federal officials to correct the matter is utterly disgraceful.

Who are those who are denied the right to vote in federal elections? They are the citizens who live closest to the Capital Hill, the citizens of the District of Columbia. This issue exists because the Constitution mentions only States. But the Constitution was penned prior to the creation of the District of Columbia out land gifted by Maryland so that no State could lay claim to the capital and lord it over other States. A simple fix is to insert “and the District of Columbia” into the appropriate clauses. Those who resist this by noting that giving the District voting rights would then give it unfairly two seats in the Senate while only one seat in the House should get a life since there are seven other States with small populations who also have one seat in the House and two seats in the Senate.

Not correcting this injustice undermines America claim that voting and democracy is a fundamental principle. I wish that some head of state would have the boldness to privately and publicly put the President in his place when the American President raises the issue of encouraging democracy. I would love to hear a national leader say to the press that he told the President that they will be happy to converse about voting and democracy when the President and Congress put their own house in order by granting voting rights to those living in the District of Columbia.

It is long overdue for the country to cease being hypocritical. It is time for Congress, the President and the States to amend the Constitution. Give the citizens of the District the right to participate in Congress.