I also agree with Shawn that D.C. should not be a state. This is a federal district and not a state. If people want to vote, they can move, but saying they want votes now after knowing the stipulations for living there seems disingenuous at best. Also, if D.C. is made a state, then another state needs to be created to balance out the shift, say perhaps splitting California into North and South California as the northern part has essentially no representation in Sacramento.
The District of Columbia is far more important to all of us than, say, Boise or Topeka. It does not belong solely to those who choose to live there. It belongs to every American. Were DC to become a state, therefore, all US citizens should be able to vote in DC elections. This solves many problems and ought to satisfy everyone except, perhaps, DC residents who might instead prefer keeping things as the Founders, in their enduring wisdom, made them.
I also agree with Shawn that D.C. should not be a state. This is a federal district and not a state. If people want to vote, they can move, but saying they want votes now after knowing the stipulations for living there seems disingenuous at best. Also, if D.C. is made a state, then another state needs to be created to balance out the shift, say perhaps splitting California into North and South California as the northern part has essentially no representation in Sacramento.
The District of Columbia is far more important to all of us than, say, Boise or Topeka. It does not belong solely to those who choose to live there. It belongs to every American. Were DC to become a state, therefore, all US citizens should be able to vote in DC elections. This solves many problems and ought to satisfy everyone except, perhaps, DC residents who might instead prefer keeping things as the Founders, in their enduring wisdom, made them.