An Idea for D.C. Statehood So Crazy It Just Might Work
OK. Maybe I’m overselling it with that title … but also, maybe not? Over the last months I’ve sent a similar letter to the one below to Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY), Rep. Maria Cantwell (WA), Rep. Steny Hoyer (MD), Mayor Muriel Bowser (DC) and the DC Vote office. Yes, a letter. A real printed and signed letter (I thought it would cut through the noise).
So far the only response I have received is from a young staffer in Mayor Bowser’s office who seemed more interested in quizzing me on Blockchain startups in Berlin rather than advancing the content of my letter. No harm there. I respect the hustle, am happy to give my advice and believe wholeheartedly that we need way more nerds in politics!
But given the hearings for H.R. 51 started this week, I think it’s time for my idea to get a bit wider exposure, lest it not even make it to the drawing board.
Below is the letter and my so-crazy-it-might-work idea for D.C. Statehood that increases the amount of enfranchised voters 1100% and is Republican-friendly. Curious? I’m looking forward to hear your responses.
Creative Recommendations for the Campaign for D.C. Statehood from a American Abroad
To the Honorable […],
My name is Travis Todd. I’m an American originally from the United States who’s been living in Berlin, Germany for the last 14 years. I came here to be with my German wife and stayed because of the thriving technology and startup sector (well, and because of her, if you twist my arm). I’ve been an entrepreneur for the last decade, founding several of my own startups. I now invest in and mentor young businesses as well. My brain thrives on working outside of the box, thinking up new creative ideas and seeing the impossible angles in problems.
That’s why I am writing you today. I have a couple out-of-the-box ideas that I think may help get more people behind the D.C. statehood cause. While, I don’t live in D.C., I know you’re the leading advocate for this cause so I thought I would throw these ideas against your wall and see if they stick.
First, to set a small amount of context, while I vote in most every election, I volunteered for the first time with Democrats Abroad this year. Like a lot of Americans, this presidential election meant so much, that casting my vote didn’t seem like enough. I wanted to be active! We organised voter drives here in Berlin, called Americans around the world to help them vote and even leant our talents where we could stateside to flip battleground states.
There’s a lot of us abroad. Nine million to be exact. If we were a state, we’d be the eleventh-largest. Without the Democratic votes from abroad one could argue Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia and Michigan wouldn’t have flipped in the election. So while that’s been a blessing for Democrats in this cycle, in the grand scheme of things it’s a very strange scenario. Why do we vote in the last state we lived? We’re wholly disconnected from the local politics of the last place we paid an electricity bill and have no one that represents us and the issues really relevant to us (FATCA, Dual-Taxation, Foreign Relations, etc.) in Congress. I’m sure you’d also admit your local constituents are more important than the ones who vote in your district but live in Paris.
Now to D.C. Statehood. Obviously this is a really important topic for the potential to add Democratic-friendly seats to Congress, but also for that reason it’s hard for any Republicans to get behind, right? And 700,000 disenfranchised voters is easy for the cynical conservative to overlook. But what about 9,700,000 disenfranchised voters?
So, here’s my idea. Why not give all Americans Abroad voting status in D.C. rather than in their previous home state? We wouldn’t even need the appropriate number of representatives for our population. Just give us one. That’s fine. That would mean two new House reps for D.C. and two Senators, one for locals and one for us abroad. It’s also logical to give Americans abroad representation in the nation’s capital.
This is also a good deal for Republicans. Why? Because you’re eliminating the Democratic-leaning abroad vote from swing states. Plus we’re giving Democrats and Republicans who live around the world real representation! It’s something we’ve sought for a long time and this could be the chance to grant it in a clever and fair way.
I’d be curious to hear if this is a feasible idea, has been thought of before, or if I’m just a crazy entrepreneur with no idea how real politics works. I am available to help in any way you can think of to make this a reality and please feel free to share this letter with whomever you deem relevant. I wish you all the best from Berlin for this new era in American politics.
Sincerely,
Travis J. Todd
