I'm going to admit to something that is a bit
scandalous in my circles: I didn't vote in the
elections this week. When I have told a
few friends this, they have scolded me for not
being true to my ''civic duty'' and for not
realizing how lucky I am to live in a country
where I can freely exercise the right to
vote. I've never been entirely convinced
by the ''voting as a civic duty'' argument, but
I do indeed feel lucky to live in a country
where we can vote.
But as a
resident of the District of Columbia, is it the
same right that the rest of my fellow Americans
enjoy in the 50 states? Nope. So I
also feel lucky to live in a country where I
can decide not to vote.
As my
countrymen were going to the polls to - it
turns out - keep President Obama in the White
House, I got an email from a British friend of
mine. Like many Brits, he was riveted by our
elections and wanted to watch the returns come
in. He joked that, ''it is most
inconvenient of the US establishment to have
the elections scheduled for such an unearthly
hour for Britons.'' And he asked if he might
write to my congressman to reschedule it for a
''time which better suits the British
audience.'' Here was my
response:
Raymond,
I
would love to write my congressman or refer you
to him, but my government - which is based on
the principle of government of the people, by
the people, and for the people - does not
sanction voting congressional representation
for the 600,000 residents of the District of
Columbia. We have a Non-Voting Delegate,
and I like her, but she is...well,
non-voting. This might surprise you since
our slogan in 1776 in overthrowing our colonial
overlords (you) was ''No Taxation Without
Representation.'' The right of
representation in a legislature was deemed, in
the Declaration of Independence, to be an
''inestimable'' right that is ''formidable to
tyrants only.'' Our government does not
honor that principle in the case of DC, but at
least we are allowed to print
it on our license plates.
DC has a
higher population than the State of Wyoming,
which has a congressman and two senators - one
more congressman and two more senators than we
do. Our constitution does not allow the
same democratic rights for DC. We have a mayor
and a city council. They are corrupt but it
matters not because the US Congress, which is
elected in exactly none of its parts by the
people of DC, exerts far more control over DC
governance than the DC government.
We do have our three electoral
votes in presidential elections, but DC always
goes 90 plus percent Democrat, so - regardless
of whom I support - my vote would not matter
either locally or nationally. I could not even
fairly call the exercise of my right to vote
''self-indulgent'' because that implies that I
get something out of it. So I am not
voting.
You may want to contact someone
from Wyoming and write his/her congressman. I
can't be of help.
Best always,
Ryan
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