The US Constitution allows for amendments, including the 23rd Amendment which grants Washington, DC residents the right to vote for the President and Vice President. DC is a special district and was not originally intended to have non-government residents, but the population grew and campaigned for voting rights. The 23rd Amendment gives DC the same number of electoral votes as the least populous state. The issue of full voting rights for DC residents remains political.
The United States Constitution provides the framework and guiding principles for making laws and governing the United States of America. While the founding fathers believed the Constitution to be a solid and timeless guide, they also foresaw the need for additions or changes to the Constitution in the years to come. Consequently, the Constitution itself provides for a procedure for change through a constitutional amendment. The 23rd Amendment to the United States Constitution gives residents of the District of Columbia, or Washington, DC, the right to vote for electors for Vice President and President of the United States.
Washington, DC holds a unique position in the political geography of the United States. The nation’s capital is not a state, but a special district intended to be the seat of the country’s federal government. The Constitution provides for a special district in which the nation’s capital will be located. A year after the District of Columbia was created, in 1791, a capital was established and named after George Washington. The City of Washington, along with the surrounding area, are considered a unified entity for government purposes and are under the direct government of the federal government.
Since the District of Columbia is not a state, residents historically did not have the right to vote. The founders of the Constitution viewed the District of Columbia only as the seat of the federal government, not a city in and of itself with non-government residents. Since its inception in 1790, however, the District of Columbia has grown to include many residents who are not part of the nation’s government. Understandably, Washington residents began campaigning for voting rights.
In 1960, Congress proposed the 23rd amendment to the Constitution. Although the 23rd Amendment does not give District of Columbia residents full voting rights as state residents do; however, it does give them the right to vote for the vice president and president of the United States. The presidential election is actually determined by state voters, who generally cast their electoral votes based on the votes of state residents.
Electoral votes are determined by the population of the state. The more populous the state, the more electoral votes the state is entitled to in elections. The 23rd Amendment allows the District of Columbia the same number of votes as the least populous state in the country at election time.
Since the 23rd Amendment was passed, the issue of voting rights for District of Columbia residents has continued to be a political one. In 1978, Congress passed the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, which would have replaced the 23rd Amendment by giving residents full voting rights. The amendment, however, was not ratified by the states as required to become an amendment to the Constitution.
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