With elections in Iraq just a few days away, we’ve been hearing a lot from the Bush administration about the importance of voting, democracy, and people having a say in the future of their own government. The success of the Iraqi election remains very much in doubt — candidates are afraid to campaign, terrorist threats are everywhere, voter registration is low — but every time I hear the president extol the virtues of democracy, I wonder why he won’t fight equally hard for the Americans who lack voting rights in Bush’s own hometown.
A new poll shows that Americans generally have no idea that citizens in the District of Columbia lack the voting rights all other Americans have, but when they learn of the problem, the public strongly supports rectifying the injustice.
A group advocating voting rights for the District plans to release a nationwide survey today showing that eight in 10 Americans support congressional voting representation for the city.
DC Vote, an advocacy group founded in 1998, will meet today with Washington philanthropic organizations to seek financial support for a national media campaign. The group has raised $700,000 toward a $1 million goal for the campaign, which is aimed at winning full representation in Congress for the District. The District now elects only a House delegate, who is permitted to vote in committees but not on the floor.
DC Vote’s national survey of 1,007 people found that a majority of respondents were unaware of the District’s status. For example, 78 percent thought that D.C. residents have voting rights in Congress equal to those of residents of the 50 states.
In all, about 82% of respondents favored extending equal voting rights to DC, after being told that District residents serve in the military and pay local and federal taxes but have no voting representative in the House or Senate.
It’d be nice if Bush saw this as an opportunity to do some good. In his inaugural address last week, for example, the president emphasized the “concerted effort of free nations to promote democracy.” What better place to start than the city Bush lives in?
For that matter, the White House seems keenly interested in smoothing over harsh divisions between Bush and the African-American community. If sincere, Bush could make real strides by allowing the nation’s capital, a majority of which is African American, to have the same voting rights as all other Americans.
C’mon, Mr. President. It’s an idea that’s popular with the public, consistent with the principles of your inaugural address, can help heal rifts with a constituency you’ve alienated, and, best of all, is the right thing to do. What’s not to like?