And Justice for All!

We have the opportunity to express our continuing commitment to justice for all. This information comes from the national office office of the League of Women Voters and brings to our attention a very important justice at home issue:

ACTION ALERT: House to Vote on DC Voting Rights!

The full House of Representatives is set to vote on the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act the week of March 19. Please contact your Members of Congress immediately and urge them to vote for the legislation to provide a vote in the House for the citizens of our nation’s capital. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the Judiciary both approved the DC Voting Rights Act the week of March 12, clearing the way for historic action in the full House of Representatives. Passage of this legislation will be another step in the long struggle for full voting rights for every citizen in our nation.Keep the momentum going! Please contact your Representative now and urge her or him to vote for the DC Voting Rights Act of 2007.

Citizens of the District of Columbia pay U.S. taxes, fight and die for the U.S. during wartime, and are governed by the laws that Congress passes. And yet they have no voting representation in Congress. They have only a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives. The “District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act,” sponsored by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D DC) and Representative Tom Davis (R VA), would right this wrong. The legislation provides voting representation in the House for DC citizens by increasing the size of the House by two seats – one for DC and the other for the state of Utah, which is entitled to the next seat by size of population. This balanced approach provides voting rights for District citizens without upsetting the partisan balance of the House.Americans living in the nation’s capital deserve to have voting representation in the body that makes their laws, taxes them and can call them to war. Only Congress can ensure that the democracy Americans have espoused and fought for across the globe becomes a reality in the nation’s capital.

Take action today to support DC voting rights! A basic principle of democracy is at stake. Your Representative needs to hear from you today! Please urge your Representative to support the DC Voting Rights Act.

TAKE ACTION

1. Contact your Representative now, by phone and by email, and urge her/him to vote for the bipartisan DC Voting Rights Act. Tell your Representative that the legislation is an important step in the long struggle for full voting rights for every citizen in our nation.Phone calls are helpful and can be made through the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121. Click here to enter your zip code and send an instant message to your Representative now!

2. Send this alert to other concerned citizens — your grassroots network, your friends and coworkers. Encourage them to contact their Representative today!
Click here for more information about DC voting rights.