We have grown accustomed to certain unalienable rights granted to us by our Constitution: we have the ability to vote for president, we have multiple votes in Congress, and by all measures, we have representation in our government. Our voices matter and are being heard, however, this is not universal across the United States. There are five inhabited territories and one federal district where citizens are not granted full representation in Congress and, with the exception of the federal district, do not have a say in electing their president.
Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa are what are known as “unincorporated territories” and do not have full statehood. The same is true for the federal district of Washington, DC. As a result of not having full statehood, if you live, or move to, any of these locales, you will lose your representation in Congress.
As a result of no representation, these territories do not have any voting power in Congress. Instead, they have a “Delegate” (or “Resident Commissioner” in the case of Puerto Rico) in the House of Representatives who can introduce bills, be members of a committee, debate on the floor, but cannot vote on any bills. This disenfranchises millions of Americans who do not have a voice in their federal government.
And yet, these residents pay taxes, many serve, and have served, in the US Armed Forces, their places of residence have areas owned and managed by the Federal Government, and are officially part of the United States. Furthermore, DC and Puerto Rico are more populous than two states and twenty states, respectively, and yet lack full representation. How is it fair that the residents of these places, who are American citizens, do not have an equal vote, and thus equal rights to their peers in the other 50 states? Wasn’t the American Revolutionary War fought on the principle of “No Taxation Without Representation?” Millions of Americans are being taxed, but lack critical representation in Congress and the Electoral College.
Moreover, American Citizens can vote for President from anywhere in the world through absentee ballots. They can even vote from space, since 1997, when astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space when he was aboard the Mir Space Station. Yet, if you move from Colorado to Puerto Rico or Guam, you would lose the right to vote for President. Moving from a locale in the United States to another locale in the United States and losing the right to vote for your head of state makes absolutely no sense.
Unfortunately, many Republicans oppose granting any statehood to these colonies territories. In an interview on Fox News, then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “They (Democrats) plan to make the District of Columbia- that’d give them two new Democratic senators- Puerto Rico a state- (and) that would give them two more new Democratic Senators. … So this is full bore socialism on the march in the House.” How is giving full representation to millions of Americans socialism? How is ensuring equal rights for all Americans, no matter their place of residence socialism? The only reason that McConell is using this misleading rhetoric is because these colonies all lean towards the Democrats, which means that Democrats would gain seats in Congress and undoubtedly have a majority over Republicans. Republicans are getting in the way of the rights of Americans because they don’t want to lose power. They are being selfish and childish by putting themselves in front of the rights of millions.
Simply put, DC, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, the Mariana Islands, and Guam must be admitted into the Union as states (even if that means combining a few of them to fulfill population requirements) or allow them to become independent. Because at the current moment, the United States of America is a colonizer and suppressing the rights of nearly four million Americans.
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