• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Saturday, June 3, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Push for DC Statehood Gains Momentum Amid Presidential Campaign

Maria Michela D'alessandro by Maria Michela D'alessandro
08/09/19
in National
US Capitol building

Audience members wave flags from the National Mall during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Jan. 21, 2013. Photo: Staff Sgt. Mark Fayloga, U.S. Marine Corps

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In November 2016, the citizens of Washington, D.C. had a chance to vote for the first time for statehood, casting ballots in favor of petitioning Congress to allow it to become the 51st American state and be represented in the U.S. Congress. 

Back then, the referendum showed District voters overwhelmingly in favor of statehood, with 87 percent in favor and only 13 percent dissenting. 

After almost three years and ahead of 2020 elections, a historic hearing on the issue in the House of Representatives is scheduled for September 19.

But a Gallup survey published last June found that only 29 percent of Americans as a whole support statehood, with  64 percent opposing it. 

Despite public opinion being currently against the idea, Democrats running for president are including D.C. statehood in their political campaign, stressing its importance for citizens’ representation and democracy.

Before candidate Michael Bennet announced his support for making the nation’s capital a state, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Peter Buttigieg had made it as one of his leading points. 

Buttigieg was the first Democratic presidential candidate to mention his support of D.C. statehood during the July debate in Detroit.  He had also already expressed his support for the idea on his Twitter account in February. 

Pete Buttigieg name-checked D.C. #statehood in last night's debates. What do all the other Democrats have to say about it? https://t.co/dMSNyxtMKz

— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) July 31, 2019

“Democracy is front and center right now, but some very important dimensions (like electoral college reform, DC statehood) get way too little attention,” he wrote. “We must not become the first generation to see USA get less democratic versus more.”

“We will give full political representation to the people of D.C.,” his campaign website says, explaining that by creating a new state, it would give D.C. residents one congressperson, two Senators, and three votes in the electoral college. 

With more than 700,000 residents, D.C. has a higher population than two states- Vermont and Wyoming – and is close to the population of Alaska and South Dakota. 

As part of Buttigieg’ plan to invest in the “empowerment of Black America,” the 37-year-old American politician states if it were a state, Washington, D.C would have the highest proportion of Black citizens–approximately 50 percent –of any state. 

The message “taxation without representation” has become popular and started to appear on D.C. license plates to highlight what many residents feel is their unequal status. While several non-governmental organizations were set up to follow the issue. 

After 25 years, D.C. statehood will receive its first Congressional hearing on September 19. It had originally been scheduled for July but was rescheduled because of a conflict with Robert Mueller‘s testimony. 

“D.C. statehood is one good example of voter suppression. In the central area of D.C., which is  non-residential, no-one lives expect for the White House, but the rest of the city is filled with 700,000 people, much more people than live in Vermont or Wyoming – respectively 572,381 and 627,180 – and we have no voting representation in Congress,” Kathy Chiron, President of the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, told The Globe Post.

With or without the statehood, D.C. residents have the same commitments of any other American citizen, such as paying taxes and serving the military, except for having a voice in the Congress. 

Together with the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia, before September 19,  numerous nonpartisan organizations are taking action to inform on the hearing as many people as possible, including signing a petition or filling a letter to send to their Congressional delegation. 


More on the Subject 

US Civil Rights Groups Demand Action to End Voter Suppression

ShareTweet
Maria Michela D'alessandro

Maria Michela D'alessandro

Related Posts

Rebuke for Trump in Races Seen as Barometers for 2020 Election
Featured

Rebuke for Trump in Races Seen as Barometers for 2020 Election

by Staff Writer
November 6, 2019
Next Post
migrants at a US detention center

With Flu Season Coming, Doctors Warn US Migrant Facilities Unprepared

The United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C

How to Fix the United States’ Weaponized Judiciary

Recommended

A man holds US, Taiwan flags

US and Taiwan Ink Trade Deal as China Issues Warning

June 2, 2023
Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

May 26, 2023
Customers queue to enter a re-opened Zara clothes shop

EU Targets Fast Fashion in Push for Durable Goods

May 23, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

May 16, 2023

Opinion

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A Supreme Folly 

April 24, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post