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District Of Columbia Residents Push For Statehood Movement For Statehood In The District Of Columbia

Residents of Washington D.C. have less say in government than other Americans.

By Michael Cortez

Michael Cortez: Gilbert Saldaña lives in Washington DC. But he is not represented in the halls of congress the ways some citizens are.

Gilbert Saldaña: It would be nice for my, I guess my vote to count more.

Cortez: Saldaña like all DC residents doesn’t have a voting representative in congress. DC delegate Elanor Holmes Norton, who is allowed to draft legislation but is not allowed to vote on the house floor. That leaves those who live in DC with less say than other American citizens.

Saldaña: I think there’s, there’s a big consensus of yes, let’s, let’s, let’s push for statehood people people want that vote.

Cortez: On April 22, The US House of Representatives passed a bill for Washington DC, to become the 51st state.
But for that to become a reality legal scholars say it would take a constitutional amendment.
Amending the constitution is a lengthy process. It requires a super majority a two thirds of US congress and ratification by Three-Forths of the state legislatures.

Cortez: The District of Columbia has a large population. According to the 2020 US Census, Washington DC has a total population of 690,000 people. While the states of Wyoming and Vermont both have smaller populations. Wyoming has a population of 577,000 and Vermont has one of 643,000.

Saldaña: They want to feel like a typical American that gets to vote for it for a senator, and, and a representative.

Cortez: If DC became a state, It would gain two voting senators and a voting representative in the house.

Margaret Susan Thompson: Increase the number of Democrats in the Senate, by two. They would increase the number of representatives democratic Representatives by two. And so in that sense, in a very quantitative sense, they would change the course of American politics.

Cortez: But DC is a democratic strong hold it has voted democrat in the last twelve elections. Making it a state could shift the balance of power in congress and that’s why many political scientists say it is a long shot at least for right now.

Grant Davis Reeher: The control has been deeply contested between the two sides. That makes it tougher to actually change the rules, so I think that DC statehood is actually something that may have a better chance when for lack of a better phrase, politically things calm down.

Cortez: However, Saldaña believes if DC were to become a state, his pride would grow.

Saldaña: I love DC already, but it’s kind of cool to say, Oh, I live in the state of DC.

Cortez: But for now, DC remains a district, and all residents can do is wait. Michael Cortez NCC News.

(NCC NEWS)-  A movement is underway to make the District of Columbia a state and give people more of a voice in the government. There has been a lot of support for DC, to be a state, said Gilbert Saldaña, who has lived in the city for six years.

“There’s a big consensus of yes, let’s push for statehood people want that vote,” Saldaña said. “They want to feel like a typical American that gets to vote for a senator, and a representative.”

On April 22, The US House of Representatives passed a bill for Washington, DC, to become the nation’s 51st state. But for this to become a reality a constitutional amendment would be needed.

In order to amend the Constitution, it would require a series of steps which would make the process take a long time. To make the capital a state, it would require a two-thirds vote in both houses of US Congress. It would also need to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures. ]

Grant Davis Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said the current political climate and polarization of the parties make the bill hard to pass.

“We’re in now where the parties are deeply divided, they’re relatively evenly divided, and there’s a clear difference,” Reeher said. “You’re changing some important aspect of the electoral landscape right in the midst of a period where the control has been deeply contested between the two sides.”

If the District were to become a state, it would shift the balance of Congress. It is a Democratic stronghold and has voted for a Democrat in the last twelve elections.

Residents of the capital have a vote in the presidential elections but do not have members in the Senate that represent the community. However, they do have a delegate that is allowed to draft legislation but cannot vote on the house floor. While states like Vermont and Wyoming have senators and representatives in the house, who can vote.

Vermont and Wyoming both have smaller populations than the District of Columbia. According to the 2020, U.S. Census, the District of Columbia has a population of 689,545, which is larger than Wyoming’s population of 576,851 and Vermont’s of 643,077.

Saldaña said he believes there is a lot of uncertainty with DC becoming a state, but it would be nice to have more of a say on what is voted on in Congress.

“It would be nice for my, I guess my vote to count more, even if it’s going to go to a definite party,” Saldaña said. “I would probably have some more pride in the area. I love DC already, but it’s kind of cool to say, Oh, I live in the state of DC.”

The capital has an uncertain future and a long path towards statehood. So all residents can do now is wait and see what the future holds.

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