• hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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    7 months ago

    I’ve never really understood why DC folks don’t get a vote, but at least I knew about that one (it gets mentioned in movies and series from time to time)

    • yeather@lemmy.ca
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      7 months ago

      DC is a small area entirelt under the ruling of the federal government, and because the government is made up of representatives from states they do not get a vote. The original idea was congress and the federal government shouldn’t be housed under any state laws.

      • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
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        7 months ago

        But I’d assume there’s other folks in DC besides just congresscritters? It just feels weird that you disenfranchise (whew what a word to spell) people when they are state representatives or they happen to live in the place where the congresscritters do their thing.

        I think in general disenfranchising people feels weird to me; I’m Finnish and I’m so used to the idea that literally everybody has a vote no matter what – here all citizens who are over 18 get a vote, whether in parliamentary, presidental, or municipal elections, and the only way to lose your right to vote is to renounce your citizenship. Doesn’t matter whether you’re an ax murderer or a member of parliament (hopefully not both at the same time though.)

        • yeather@lemmy.ca
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          7 months ago

          It didn’t matter when DC was 99% swamp, but it’s more of a problem now. My thinking is the people living in DC chose to live there, it’s a very rich area and anyone living in DC has the means to live outside. They knew they wouldn’t have a congressional vote. Also, DC still has municipal elections.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      DC doesn’t get its own separate representative because every congressperson has a vested interest in representing it (since they all live there half the time). The arrangement was specifically designed to avoid giving DC too much power.