Latest US Elections: Shocking poll puts Harris ahead in ruby ​​red state; Biden says Trump is someone you’d “want to punch in the ass” | US news

By Jess Sharplive news reporter in Washington DC

The economy, the war in the Middle East, and immigration are just some of the issues voters mentioned to me today, but for Kelsye Adams, the most important issue in this election is achieving statehood for DC.

DC Vote’s organizing director is just one of many people who went to Metrobar to share their message.

Washington, D.C., although it houses federal government buildings, is not and never has been a state.

Instead, Washington is a city within the District of Columbia.

This means that residents have no elected officials in the Senate, and the area’s House of Representatives representative does not have full voting rights.

Kelsye explained to me that the district has no representation in government, even though it has a larger population than two states.

“We are the only country where residents of the capital have no voice in the federal government,” she said.

“You would think that America is the hegemon and based on all these principles of freedom and democracy, I think we have missed justice because we have forgotten about 700,000 Americans.

“This is a targeting of people of color. We did nothing but be born, and they say we can’t have a voice in Congress and “we don’t have a senator for you.”

The 33-year-old said D.C. was designated as the seat of the federal government after an uprising during the creation of the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1776.

But she added that the Jan. 6 riots showed it was no longer a “safe space” for elected officials.

“It was established to protect the federal government from an insurrection, but it was established and, due to the lack of statehood, it could not defend itself,” she said, explaining that the mayor could not call in the National Guard.

“If we were a country, we would avoid the uprising,” she added.

So what does all this have to do with the presidential election?

To become a state, a law must be passed by Congress or the president.

“When you think about power, gaining anything in the political space, there has to be a shift in power, and no one wants to be the person who lost power,” Kelsye said.

“We know for a fact that Harris will fight for D.C. statehood.”

I asked what she thought a Trump presidency would mean for her cause, and she replied that “it’s definitely going to be chaotic for DC.”

She stressed the importance of voting, saying she wants “the people in the 50 states” to realize that Washington has no representative to fight for them.

“If you don’t want to fight, that’s fine, but I’m asking people to vote for him. The fact that I have no representation in Congress just makes me angry,” she added.