Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. We vote for our national representatives, and through them we exert some control over how our federal tax dollars are spent and how our priorities are represented as a state and nation. Yet the 712,000 residents of Washington, D.C., are denied equal voting rights and congressional representation, simply because of where they live.
Congress is considering a bill to grant D.C. statehood and remedy this injustice. It carves out a federal district consisting of federal buildings, the National Mall, the Capitol and the White House. The parts of D.C. where residents live would become a state. While it is small in area, the population of this proposed state is larger than Wyoming and Vermont.
A bill for D.C. statehood passed through the House of Representatives last summer, with Maine Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden voting in favor. The bill has been reintroduced, and is working its way through the House again. The bill will also need to pass in the Senate, and be signed by the president to become law. While our Maine representatives have been supportive, our Maine senators — Angus King and Susan Collins — have been quiet on where they come out on the issue.