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| Freedom Or 'Fool's Errand'? US's Di |
| Freedom Or 'Fool's Errand'? US's District of Columbia To Vote On Statehood Referendum
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 5-November-2016
12:40:30 PM |
| Long-frustrated backers of statehood for the District of Columbia are pinning their hopes on a first-ever referendum on Tuesday in a long-shot bid to become the 51st US state.
Invoking the colonial-era demand of "no taxation without representation," supporters say becoming a state would end Washingtonians' status as second-class citizens because they lack representation in Congress.
But opponents dismiss the referendum as a "fool's errand" destined to fail because of partisan political hurdles and the need to amend the US Constitution, a procedure accomplished only 17 times since 1789.
The District of Columbia was carved out to serve as the nation's capital, but it is not a state. Its 672,000 residents have no voting representative in the Senate or House of Representatives although they pay federal taxes, though they do have a delegate in the House.
A "yes" vote could help pressure the new Congress and president - either Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump - to admit the District of Columbia as a new state, though even advocates admit that is unlikely anytime soon.
A "yes" vote would simply be an expression of public support for statehood, a non-binding measure without any legal force.
"Statehood's the only way that we can have the same rights and responsibilities as all the other citizens of the United States," District of Columbia Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said.
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