Existing comment:
The Twenty-Third Amendment, 1961
The U.S. Constitution did not grant the District of Columbia representation in Congress or the Electoral College, because it is not a state, and placed its governance in the hands of Congress. Since the 19th century, residents of the city have petitioned for voting rights.
In 1961 the Twenty-Third amendment gave residents of Washington a vote in presidential elections but a 1978 attempt to ratify a constitutional amendment giving them voting representation in Congress failed. Although it is the nation’s capital, the issue of D.C. voting rights has remained a mostly local issue. |