Photo courtesy of the office of Eleanor Holmes Norton
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton will get full voting rights if the bill is passed into law

by MESHA Y. WILLIAMS

Supporters are one step closer to bringing voting rights to the District.

The D.C. voting-rights legislation jumped a major hurdle last week when the Democrat-controlled House voted 241-177 for a bill that could give the city voting power.

After a few near misses in getting House approval, supporters are savoring the victory after a difficult fight.

“This is a fabulous thing, and it’s an unlikely victory,” said Brian McNicoll, spokesman for Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va. “I don’t think people have an appreciation for something like this to get it done in Congress because it hasn’t been done in 30 years.”

The bill still has to win approval in the Senate.

Doxie McCoy, spokeswoman for Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said she did not know when the bill would come before the full Senate. But the congresswoman said she would like to see a decision made on voting rights by the end of the year.

The D.C. Voting Rights Bill would give eight-term congresswoman the ability to vote on the House floor. She has served as the nonvoting delegate since 1991, and she only can introduce legislation, serve on committees and speak on the House floor.

In an effort to get bipartisan support, the bill calls for the House to increase its membership from 435 to 437, with new seats for the District and Utah.

Proponents said the bill is a good compromise because registered voters in the District primarily vote Democratic, and registered voters in Utah primarily vote Republican.

Utah legislators approved a plan that calls for Utah’s congressional district to be divided into four areas, creating one liberal and three conservative areas.

However, a recent poll by The Washington Post found that 61 percent of American adults support the District voting rights. However, less than 50 percent of those adults support legislation in its current form to give the District one seat and Utah one seat in the House.

McCoy said the Norton would do her part to ensure that the same success in the House would be repeated in the Senate. Achieving success requires the support of the Utah senators. In addition, a priority will be to work with Utah leaders on concerns they might have with the bill, she said.

In the Senate, senior senators such as Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., have been vocal about supporting District voting rights, McCoy said. Local congressmen such as Steny Hoyer, D-Md., have met with sponsors to see how the bill can be approved in the Senate.

The bill’s passage in the House didn’t come without bickering.

Opponents say the Constitution didn’t intend for the nation’s capital to be a state. They believe if the District wants to achieve full voting rights, then leaders should address how the city’s constitution is tied to Congress.

Advisers to President Bush have said they would recommend that he veto the legislation if it reached the White House.

Rep. Lamar S. Smith, R-Texas, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, also opposes the bill. He believes there is a better way to achieve voting rights.

“His position is that the bill shouldn’t violate the constitution,” spokeswoman Beth McGin said.