Would you want work and live in a place in America where you paid your taxes, yet you have no elected official in Washington D.C. representing you? Would you let a Congress, that you had not been able to vote for, appoint the Electors to cast ballots in the Electoral College for the President and Vice President of the United States? Would you like to just stand by and watch the elections pass you by year after year knowing that you have no actual say in Who is What and what Laws are Law?
Well, this situation has been going on in America for more that 200 years. Yes, I said it has been going on for over 200 years in this country and still going on to this date. Your probably appalled at this idea, thinking, I thought that is what we fought for in the Revolutionary war for? Well, your right to think that, because that is what we did fight for. But today, yesterday, and tomorrow the residents in Washington D.C. are not/and will not be allowed to vote, but, they have to pay their taxes, and can serve in the military.
According to the United States Constitution in 1960 more than 760,000 people were living in the Washington D.C.area, yet, now according to the 2009 census bureau only 599,657 people claim residency there. Probably moving out because they felt they have been shafted, not being allowed to vote. Some people might think that the reason the residents of Washington D.C. don't get to participate in a vote is because out of the population that lives there only 11.7% is over the age of 65 and we all know that that is the age that the government tends to listen to, not enough to bother with perhaps?. Um who knows?
No, the reason that they are not permitted a vote is because Washington D.C. is not a state. They are considered a "unique city as the seat of the new government" (US Constitution 23rd amendment). Bummer right? Maybe it's "time for change," because I surely wouldn't want to live in a place that I could not stand up and "Rock the Vote". Would you want to live there? So when you go to the poll's this year, remember you are the lucky ones, and you get to help choose who represents you, unlike the folks that live in Washington D.C. who don't even get the chance to.
Your Right To Vote
ReplyDeleteIn late October Ms. Mckinley posted a blog titled, Don't Take the Right to Vote Lightly, about the citizens of Washington D.C. not being able to vote or have anyone represent them in Congress.
I like the idea behind the blog. I agree that everyone should have the right to vote but also feel like the citizens of DC are choosing to live there. They too have known that living there means they can't vote and moved within those city limits anyway.
Besides a few grammatical errors, I feel like Ms. Mckinley chose an interesting topic and did a nice job presenting the reader with information about why citizens of Washington DC can't vote.