The recent proposition to allow D.C. residents a voice on the federal scene was shot down Tuesday, once more leaving more than 580,000 American citizens left without a vote in Congress. This case isn’t about fundamental rights of an American population, but unfortunately it became yet another example of partisan politics.

While at this point it would be fruitless to examine the reasons once again why D.C. residents deserve a federal voice, it is important to remember that our neighbors are being deprived of a fundamental American right. This vote wasn’t about D.C. statehood or the proportion of District Democrats to Republicans, nor should it have been. It was about giving tax-paying, law-abiding and patriotic citizens their right to be heard in Congress.

Undoubtedly this issue will come into the limelight once more. When it does, D.C. citizens should implore Congress to set aside partisan differences in favor of voting on the central issue at hand. Until such a time arises there is little more to be said on the matter as the fundamental fact remains the same: there are Americans today left without a voice in Congress.