Many solutions have been given to provide enfranchisement for D.C. residents. Here are two petitions suggesting changes. In addition, there is a petition requesting no change. Which would you support?

_____ 1. D.C. Statehood

We, the undersigned, are petitioning to request that the nonfederal lands of Washington, D.C., become the 51st state. We protest restrictions on the enfranchisement of residents of the District of Columbia. We strongly urge full voting rights be given to citizens who are entitled to representation by two seats in the Senate and at least one seat in the House.

 _____ 2. Retrocession to Maryland

We, the undersigned, petition that with the consent of the Maryland state legislature, the nonfederal portion of D.C. be returned to Maryland, giving citizens in D.C. the right to vote in local, state and federal elections as residents of Maryland. As citizens, we are aware of the historic precedent for such action by Congress. The capital district was originally created from land in Maryland and Virginia. In 1846, the portion of D.C. that came from Virginia was returned (“retroceded”) to Virginia.

 _____ 3. No change

We, the undersigned, are petitioning to retain the 1993 arrangement to allow delegates from D.C. and the four territories a vote when the House is in Committee of the Whole. We protest efforts to remove the authority the Constitution of the United States gives to Congress in Article I, Section 8. 

Last updated: Monday, September 6, 2010 | 12:22:22