UPI:  “On the opening day of its October term, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling Monday that said Washington, D.C., is not entitled to a voting representative in the U.S. House.  The high court affirmed a lower court decision that said Washington’s campaign for statehood and a voting member of the House should go through Congress, not the federal courts.  In its decision, the court pointed to a similar 2000 case in which justices made the same determination.

“Several Washington residents filed the suit in 2014 and there have been multiple unsuccessful attempts in Congress for voting representation and statehood, a separate but similar issue.   Residents in the district have argued that their lack of voting representation violates their right to equal protection.  ‘Residents of the District of Columbia are the only adult American citizens subject to federal income taxes who lack voting representation in Congress, except for felons in some states,’ attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote, according to CNN.

“Before the Supreme Court’s move on Monday, lower courts ruled against the plaintiffs last year. Their lawsuit pointed out that D.C. residents can vote in federal elections, even though they don’t live in a ‘state.’  Most Republican lawmakers have generally opposed representation for D.C. in the House. As reflected by its electorate, any voting member of the House from D.C. would almost certainly be a Democrat.”