Background

A voting representative in Congress for the District of Columbia has been proposed and debated throughout the course of this country's history. This Congressional Research Service Report provides an overview and analysis of the numerous legislative proposals for D.C. voting rights and serves as a backgrounder for the current legislative proposal in the 111th Congress.

District of Columbia Voting Representation in Congress: An Analysis of Legislative Proposals, Congressional Research Service Report, October 10, 2007

Current Legislation

These 2 bills have been introduced in the House and Senate of the 111th Congress. Both the House and the Senate bill permenantly increase the House membership from 435 to 437 seats, by adding a new seat for the District of Columbia and providing a new seat to the state of Utah.

District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, H.R. 157, 111th Congress (2009)

District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, S. 160, 111th Congress (2009)

Congressional Documents

District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, 155 Cong. Rec. S2434, daily ed. Feb. 25, 2009, Congressional floor discussion and debate, as published in the daily Congressional Record

District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, H. Rep. No 111-22 (2009), House Committee Report from the Committee on the Judiciary.

For access to all documents on the current legislation, consult www.fdsys.gov and search for documents from 2009 using the search terms "District of Columbia" and "voting".

News Coverage

The Washington Post: Ongoing news coverage of the current legislation (website registration may be required)

DC Votes: This grassroots organization provides a stream of current media coverage, as well as links to legislation(past and present), research reports and public opinion papers written on DC Voting rights.

Law Review Articles

Numerous law review articles have been written on all sides of the voting rights debate. Here are some of the most recent on point. To conduct a more thorough search of the journal literature, see our guide "Using Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research."

• "No Right Is More Precious in a Free Country": Allowing Americans in the District of Columbia to Participate in National Self-Government, Hatch, Orrin G., Harvard Journal on Legislation, v. 45 no. 2 (Summer 2008) p. 287.
• Too Clever By Half: The Unconstitutionality of Partial Representation of the District of Columbia in Congress, Jonathan Turley, George Washington Law Review, v. 76 (February 2008) p. 305.
• A Capital Idea: Legislation To Give The District Of Columbia A Vote In The House Of Representatives, Arjun Garg, Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems, v. 41, (Fall 2007) p. 1.
  
• Is There a Constitutional Right to Vote and Be Represented? The Case of the District of Columbia: Symposium, The American University Law Review v. 48 no. 3 (February 1999) p. 589.
• The Constitutional Importance of the District of Columbia: Introduction, Raskin, Jamin B., The American University Law Review v. 48 no. 3 (February 1999) p. 591.

Selected Historical Documents

Voting rights for residents of the District of Columbia have been discussed throughout the history of the United States. Here are just a few historical documents available through ProQuest Congressional (formerly Lexis Nexis Congressional) .

• Representaion of the District of Columbia in the Congress, Hearings bef. the Judiciary Comm., 94th Congress, June 17, 23, Sept. 3, 1975
• Voting Representation in Congress for the District of Columbia, Hearings bef. Judiciary Comm. , 92nd Congress, July 19-22, 1971
• Representation of DC in Congress, Hearings bef. District of Columbia Comm., 64th Congress, Feb. 24, 29, Mar. 2, 1916
• Resolutions Proposing Amendment of Constitution to Confer Representation to District of Columbia in Two Houses of Congress and in Electoral College, S. Misc. Doc. 51-237 (1890)

Created 3/17/2009 (MK)