DC Vote: In Racist Remarks, Oklahoma Senator Tells DC Residents to Move to Maryland or Virginia if They Want Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 29, 2021

PRESS CONTACT:
Will Soltero
[email protected]

WASHINGTON — Following news that Majority Leader Schumer, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and a number of other U.S. Senators are prepared to introduce a revised version of the For the People Act, DC Vote, a leading Statehood organization in the District, released the following statement:

“A revised version of the For the People Act is in the works at the U.S. Senate. President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi are meeting to discuss voting rights legislation at the White House later today. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) appears closer than ever to supporting the advancement of major national voting rights legislation.

“As revisions and compromises on voting rights legislation take place in our nation’s capital, the residents of the District of Columbia have a reminder: Any voting rights bill to make the floor of the U.S. Senate—and ultimately President Biden’s desk—must maintain support for DC Statehood.

“National voting rights legislation that ensures equal access to the ballot box, critical campaign finance reforms, and a nationwide ban on partisan gerrymandering are essential to the future of our democracy. So too is full and equal representation in our government for 700,000 disenfranchised, tax-paying, Americans. 

“The For the People Act, as passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April, included a historic and essential provision supporting Statehood for Washington, DC. Any Senate compromise bill must maintain that provision—the fate of democracy for us 700,000 Washingtonians depends on it.”

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