District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment
Encyclopedia
The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution
that would have given the District of Columbia
full representation in the United States Congress
, full representation in the Electoral College system, and full participation in the process by which the Constitution is amended
.
This proposed amendment was proposed by the Congress on August 22, 1978, but failed to be ratified by 38 states prior to its expiration on August 22, 1985.
of California
proposed House Joint Resolution 554 in the 95th Congress
. The United States House of Representatives
passed it on March 2, 1978, by a 289-127 vote, with 18 not voting. The United States Senate
passed it on August 22, 1978, by a 67-32 vote, with 1 not voting. With that, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was offered to the state legislatures for consideration. The Congress, via Section 4 of the proposed amendment, required ratification by three-fourths of the states to be completed within seven years following its passage by the Congress (i.e., August 22, 1985) in order for it to become part of the Constitution.
In the end, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment received 16 ratifications, and so failed to be adopted because it had not been ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
. The Twenty-third Amendment does not allow the District of Columbia to have more electoral votes "than the least populous State," nor does it grant Washington, D.C.
any role in the election of a President by the House of Representatives
(or that of the Vice President
by the Senate). In contrast, this proposed amendment would have given Washington, D.C. full representation in both houses of the Congress in addition to full participation in the Electoral College. The proposed amendment would have also allowed the Council of the District of Columbia
, the Congress, or the people of Washington D.C. (depending on how this proposed amendment would have been interpreted) to decide whether to ratify any proposed amendment to the Constitution, or to apply to the Congress for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, just as a state's legislature can pursuant to the Constitutional amendment process
.
The amendment would neither have made Washington, D.C. a state
, nor affected the Congress' authority over it.
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
that would have given the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
full representation in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, full representation in the Electoral College system, and full participation in the process by which the Constitution is amended
Article Five of the United States Constitution
Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the Constitution may be altered. Altering the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment and subsequent ratification....
.
This proposed amendment was proposed by the Congress on August 22, 1978, but failed to be ratified by 38 states prior to its expiration on August 22, 1985.
Text
History
Representative Don EdwardsDon Edwards
William Donlon Edwards is an American politician of the Democratic Party, formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives from California.-Biography:...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
proposed House Joint Resolution 554 in the 95th Congress
95th United States Congress
The Ninety-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1979, during the first two years...
. The United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
passed it on March 2, 1978, by a 289-127 vote, with 18 not voting. The United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
passed it on August 22, 1978, by a 67-32 vote, with 1 not voting. With that, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was offered to the state legislatures for consideration. The Congress, via Section 4 of the proposed amendment, required ratification by three-fourths of the states to be completed within seven years following its passage by the Congress (i.e., August 22, 1985) in order for it to become part of the Constitution.
In the end, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment received 16 ratifications, and so failed to be adopted because it had not been ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
Effects if it had been adopted
Had it been adopted, this proposed amendment would have repealed the Twenty-third AmendmentTwenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote for Electors for President and Vice President. The amendment was proposed by Congress on June 17, 1960, and ratified by the states on March 29, 1961...
. The Twenty-third Amendment does not allow the District of Columbia to have more electoral votes "than the least populous State," nor does it grant Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
any role in the election of a President by the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
(or that of the Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
by the Senate). In contrast, this proposed amendment would have given Washington, D.C. full representation in both houses of the Congress in addition to full participation in the Electoral College. The proposed amendment would have also allowed the Council of the District of Columbia
Council of the District of Columbia
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...
, the Congress, or the people of Washington D.C. (depending on how this proposed amendment would have been interpreted) to decide whether to ratify any proposed amendment to the Constitution, or to apply to the Congress for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, just as a state's legislature can pursuant to the Constitutional amendment process
Article Five of the United States Constitution
Article Five of the United States Constitution describes the process whereby the Constitution may be altered. Altering the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment and subsequent ratification....
.
The amendment would neither have made Washington, D.C. a state
District of Columbia statehood movement
The District of Columbia statehood movement is a political movement that advocates making the District of Columbia a U.S. state. Statehood would give the citizens of Washington, D.C. full representation in the United States Congress and full control over their own local affairs.Full statehood for D.C...
, nor affected the Congress' authority over it.
Response of the state legislatures
Requiring the approvals of lawmakers in at least 38 of the 50 states, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was ratified by the legislatures of only the following 16 states:- New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
on September 11, 1978 - MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on December 13, 1978 - OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
on December 21, 1978 - MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
on March 19, 1979 - MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
on March 19, 1979 - ConnecticutConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
on April 11, 1979 - WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
on November 1, 1979 - MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
on March 19, 1980 - HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
on April 17, 1980 - OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
on July 6, 1981 - MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
on February 16, 1983 - West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
on February 23, 1983 - Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
on May 13, 1983 - IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
on January 19, 1984 - LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
on June 24, 1984 - DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
on June 28, 1984
See also
- District of Columbia voting rightsDistrict of Columbia voting rightsVoting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from those of United States citizens in each of the fifty states. District of Columbia residents do not have voting representation in the United States Senate, but D.C. is entitled to three electoral votes for President. In the U.S...
- List of amendments to the United States Constitution
- List of proposed amendments to the United States Constitution