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HomeNewsArchivesFYI: Christensen Encouraged by Passage of D.C. Voting Rights

FYI: Christensen Encouraged by Passage of D.C. Voting Rights

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April 24, 2007 – Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen said today that she was in full support of the passage of HR 1905, the District of Colombia's Voting Rights Act of 2007 and submitted a statement for the record in support of this important measure because of its significant implications for residents in the American territories. And while she acknowledged that she and the other territorial delegates also want a full vote in the House of Representatives as well, she understands that "our time has not yet come."
Christensen said that the successful passage of HR 1905 was the result of a sustained campaign by the entire political apparatus of the District of Columbia over the several decades on the basis that they were being taxed without representation. "This bill was the result of a bi-partisan agreement between Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Republican Congressman Tom Davis to give a full vote to the District of Colombia and another to the largely Republican State of Utah," Delegate Christensen said. "We all recognize as do the constitutional scholars who testified in support of DC Voting Rights Act, that the framers of the Constitution never intended to deny voting representation to citizens of the nation's capital," she said. "We also know that it is equally wrong to disenfranchise my constituents and the residents of the other territories."
Delegate Christensen pointed out that HR 1905 still has to go before the US Senate and the President before it becomes a reality. "However its passage in the House is a positive signal for territorial representatives that their enfranchisement is closer than it has ever been," she said. "I look forward to the day when all citizens under the American flag will enjoy the democratic right of full representation in their national assembly as well as a vote for our President and Commander-in-Chief."

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