HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5
(By Delegate Kelley)
Urging our congressional delegation to introduce and support
legislation that would permit citizens of the District of
Columbia to vote in the United States Senate and United
States House of Representatives elections in the states
bordering the District of Columbia while opposing statehood
for the District.
Whereas, Citizens of the District of Columbia are permitted
to vote in presidential elections pursuant to the XXIII Amendment
to the United States Constitution; and
Whereas, Citizens of the District of Columbia do not elect
members of the United States House of Representatives or the
United States Senate pursuant to the provisions of Section 8,
Article I of the United States Constitution; and
Whereas, The Citizens of the District of Columbia would truly
feel part of America if they were permitted to vote in the United
States Senate and House of Representatives elections of their
bordering states of Maryland and Virginia; and
Whereas, To continue to deny the citizens of the District of
Columbia the right to vote for members of Congress produces a chilling effect on the rights of all Americans; and
Whereas, The framers of the Constitution purposely provided
that the seat of the federal government not be a state of the
union in order to avoid granting any state of the union the
preferential and haughty distinction of housing the supreme
government of the land within it's borders; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That our Sstate's Ccongressional delegation is urged to
introduce and adopt legislation that would permit the citizens of
the District of Columbia to vote in the United States Senate and
United States House of Representatives elections in Virginia and
Maryland; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to
forward a copy of this resolution to the members of the West
Virginia Ccongressional delegation.