Voting Rights and the Distric of Columbia

by Marcus Skelton

There are many Senate Republicans that are undecided on whether to support the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (S-1257). Senate Republicans must support the D.C. House Voting Rights Act because it is an opportunity for Republicans to stand up for the civil rights of the residents of the District of Columbia without violating the constitution.

There has been debate on whether the House Voting Rights Act is constitutional. Residents of the District of Columbia can “constitutionally” have a voting member of the house of representatives due to the District Clause which would restore the district residents congressional vote without cessation to Maryland . Additionally in the senate bill the issues of Utah’s additional seat were addressed by have them redistrict for 111th Congress.

The Republican Party has a legacy of civil rights visionaries like President Abraham Lincoln and former D.C. Republican Party Chairman Fredrick Douglass. There was also debate about the abolition of slavery but Republican leaders did what was right and did it without violating the laws as they were written at the time. We as a party have not had a recent opportunity to reassert our position as of party that was founded on civil rights. When the final vote is cast on the Voting Rights Act I hope the history would reflect a large number of Republicans supported it in the Senate.

As we look to the future of the Republican party and it’s efforts to attract minority voters we have come to a critical point. As an African American Republican I talk to people first hand and hear that civil rights is the key issue that prevents many minorities from switching parties even though they agree with a majority of the Republican platform. People will have a difficult time voting with the our party if they feel the party is not fighting for their equal rights as individuals. I hope as Republicans we do what’s right and pass the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (S-1257).


Sincerely,

Marcus Skelton Chairman of D.C. Young Republicans,
he is also a commentor at HipHopRepublican.com