Democrats OK D.C., Territory Delegate Votes

House Democrats decided Tuesday to give Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and representatives of four U.S. territories a vote on the House floor starting in January.

The action, which came in a closed-door session, would give Norton and the other representatives the right to vote on virtually every substantive issue before the full House.

Norton is the district’s sole representative in Congress, and under previous interpretations of the Constitution has been allowed to vote only in legislative committees.

House Republicans said they would try to undo the vote change when Congress convenes next month. Democrats control the House, however, and Tuesday’s action will be part of legislation that traditionally is decided along party lines.

Under the Democratic plan, Norton only rarely will be excluded from House votes, and most of those will involve matters that already have been decided. She and the other representatives will be allowed to participate in virtually all contested matters, allowing them to play a role in major policy decisions for the first time.