DC residents should have basic rights Letter Share We have a chance to make history this year by getting Maine’s federal delegation to support admitting Washington, D.C., as our 51 st state. I see no moral grounds on which anyone can say that 700,000-plus taxpaying D.C. residents should not have the same rights as every Maine voter. We have two senators and two representatives; based on population, they should have two senators and one representative. Congress can admit new states to the Union. The vote needs to be a simple majority. To maintain conformity with the Constitution, a federal district needs to be set aside including the White House, the Capitol Building, and the federal buildings that surround it.