New Troubles for D.C. Vote Plan?

MIGHT THE QUEST to secure a full and equal vote for the District in the House of Representatives be heading back to square one?

This morning in Roll Call, Elizabeth Brotherton reports that D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, at right, and others "likely will rewrite" the portion of the proposed legislation that would grant Utah a new seat on Capitol Hill along with D.C. And that could mean massive delays for the legislation.

Last year, the Utah state legislature met for a special session to redraw the state's congressional boundaries to accommodate a new seat in case Norton's legislation — co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia — passed; now it looks like Norton might rewrite the Utah section of the bill to get rid of the redrawn fourth congressional district and instead replace it with an at-large seat, similar to what Delaware, Vermont, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming have.

As with the larger bill, there are constitutional concerns over potentially adding an at-large seat — specifically whether a combination of an at-large seat overlapping with distinct congressional districts might violate the "one-man, one-vote" principle.

Patience has been the name of the D.C. voting rights game. But might this delay suck all the momentum out of the current push?

» "Utah Section of D.C. Bill to Be Reworked" [Roll Call, subscription req'd]

Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post