Press Release: Statement on Gallup’s National Poll on DC Statehood

News Release — Executive Office of the Mayor

July 15, 2019

CONTACT:  
LaToya Foster (EOM)

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser issued the following statement regarding Gallup’s national poll on statehood for Washington, DC.

“We have more than 700,000 disenfranchised Americans living in the nation’s capital. What’s happening in DC – taxation without representation – is a civil rights injustice that contradicts the democratic principles our nation was founded on.

“The Gallup poll was a missed opportunity. The one question asked lacked any context and failed to say anything about DC’s lack of voting representation in Congress. We do not believe it accurately reflects the growing view among Americans that DC residents, including our 30,000 veterans, deserve the same rights enjoyed by all other Americans.

“This poll only further strengthens our resolve to use the upcoming and historic statehood hearing to ensure the American people understand exactly why we’re seeking statehood. When our fellow Americans see us and when they know the full story of local DC, the real DC, then we know that they are more likely to support our cause. We’re going to keep sharing that story, we’re going to keep fighting to fix this injustice, and, with the support of Americans across the country, we will become the 51^st state.”

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