CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire’s House of Representatives has voted to support voting rights for residents of the District of Columbia.
Thursday’s vote, by a count of 145-133, was symbolic but supporters hope it gives the movement momentum. Advocates pushing for voting rights note it’s the first time in 30 years that a state legislative body offered its support. Delaware was the last, in 1984.
The district’s 646,000 residents have only a nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives and no senator. Its budget and laws are subject to congressional review.
Periodic efforts to give the district’s residents a vote have failed partly because of politics: The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and Congressional Republicans balk at handing over an easy seat in the House and Senate.
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