The District of Columbia’s ongoing struggle to obtain voting rights in Congress made significant progress when the motion for cloture on the D.C. Voting Rights Act passed in the Senate by a 62-34 vote on Saturday. Although this is just the first in a series of steps the bill will need to take before becoming law, it is the first time it has managed to overcome this preliminary hurdle.
The bill would give the D.C. a vote in the House of Representatives. To balance the District’s liberal leanings, the bill will also give an extra seat to Utah, the state next in line to receive one based on census data. The cloture guarantees that the bill will now be brought before each house of Congress for a final vote.
“This bill has never passed a cloture in the Senate before,” Ilir Zherka said. Zherka is the Executive Director of D.C. Vote, a group that advocates for voting rights. “Because the decision to do this was strongly in our favor, we’re hopeful and optimistic that when the bill is finally brought before the House and Senate, it will pass easily.”
However, Zherka also said that there will probably be several amendments attached to the act should it pass. One such amendment, which would require D.C. to make changes to its strict gun control laws, has already been added.
Several Georgetown students have been involved in the campaign for D.C. voting rights, with the College Democrats, College Republicans, and the Georgetown University Legislative Advocates all pushing for the passage of the act.
According to College Democrats President Danny Gustafson (SFS ’11), GUCD, College Republicans and Georgetown University Legislative Advocates members tabled in Leo’s last week to encourage students to send letters in support of D.C. voting rights to their Congressional representatives.
“This is not a partisan issue; it is an American issue,” Gustafson said. “The District of Columbia deserves full voting rights, and they deserve it right now.”
