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By means of Jes Sharplive news reporter in Washington DC

The economy, war in the Middle East and immigration are just some of the issues voters mentioned to me today, but for Kelsye Adams the most important issue in this election is DC statehood.

The organizing director of DC Vote is just one of many people who have taken to Metrobar to share their message.

Washington DC, despite being home to the federal government buildings, is not and never has been a state.

Instead, Washington is a city within the territory of the District of Columbia.

This means residents have no elected officials in the Senate and the area’s House representative does not have full voting rights.

Kelsye explained to me that the district has no representation in government, despite having a population larger than two states.

“We are the only country where the people who live in the nation’s capital do not have a voice in the federal government,” she said.

“You would think America was the hegemon, and based on all these principles of freedom and democracy, I think we’ve left out fairness because we’ve forgotten 700,000 Americans.

“This is a target for people of color. We’ve done nothing but be born, and they say we can’t have a voice in Congress and ‘no senator for you’.”

The 33-year-old said DC was created to house the federal government after an uprising during the establishment of the Constitution in Philadelphia in 1776.

But she added that the Jan. 6 riots showed it was no longer a “safe space” for elected officials.

“It was created to protect the federal government from an insurrection, but it rebelled and the lack of statehood prevented it from defending itself,” she said, explaining that the mayor was unable to summon the National Guard to call.

“If we had been a state, we would have avoided an uprising,” she added.

What does all this have to do with the presidential election?

To become a state, a bill must be passed by Congress or the President.

“When you think about power, winning something in a political space, there has to be a power shift, and no one wants to be the person who lost power,” Kelsye said.

“We know Harris will fight for D.C. statehood.”

I asked what she thought a Trump presidential election would mean for her business, and she said it would “definitely be chaotic for DC.”

She emphasized the importance of voting and said she wants “people in the 50 states” to realize that Washingtonians don’t have a representative who can fight for them.

“If you don’t want to fight, that’s fine, but what I’m asking people to do is vote for him. The fact that I don’t have representation in Congress is just an infuriating feeling,” she added.