2016 Washington, D.C., statehood referendum facts for kids
| Location | Washington, D.C. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | November 8, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Voting system | simple majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes
No
In 2016, people in Washington, D.C. voted on an important question. They were asked if they thought the District of Columbia should become the 51st state of the United States. This vote was called a referendum. It was the first time D.C. residents had a vote specifically about becoming a state. The District of Columbia was created a long time ago, in 1790, to be the nation's capital city.
Voters were asked to tell their local government, the D.C. Council, whether to support or reject a plan. This plan included asking the U.S. Congress to make D.C. a state. It also involved approving a new constitution and boundaries for this new state. The people of D.C. voted strongly in favor of the plan. About 86% of voters wanted the Council to approve the idea.
Contents
Why D.C. Wants to Be a State
How D.C. Was Formed
The story of D.C. began on July 9, 1790. That's when Congress passed a law called the Residence Act. This law allowed for a national capital city to be built along the Potomac River. President George Washington chose the exact spot. The land for the capital came from the states of Maryland and Virginia. It was a square, 10 miles (16 km) on each side, making it 100 square miles (259 km2) in total.
In 1801, another law, the Organic Act, officially organized D.C. This law put the entire area under the direct control of the federal government. Because of this, people living in D.C. were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia. This meant they lost their right to have representatives in Congress.
Later, in 1846, the part of D.C. that came from Virginia was given back to Virginia. So, today, D.C. is only the land originally given by Maryland.
Voting Rights and Local Control
For many years, D.C. residents had very limited voting rights. In 1961, the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was added to the Constitution. This amendment gave D.C. three votes in the Electoral College. This meant D.C. could help choose the president and vice president. However, D.C. still had no voting representatives in Congress.
In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. This law gave D.C. more control over its own local government. It allowed D.C. to elect its own mayor and a 13-member council.
Past Attempts to Become a State
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to create new states. If D.C. became a state, Congress would no longer have direct control over it. D.C. residents would then have full voting representation in both the House and Senate.
Over the years, there have been several attempts to make D.C. a state. In 1980, D.C. citizens voted to create a new state constitution. In 1982, voters approved a constitution for a new state called "New Columbia." But this effort didn't succeed.
In 1993, the House of Representatives voted on D.C. statehood, but the idea was defeated. Some people worried that making D.C. a state would go against the idea of a separate federal capital.
In 2014, President Barack Obama said he supported D.C. statehood. He pointed out that D.C. residents pay taxes like everyone else. He felt they should have the same rights as people in other states. D.C. residents actually pay more taxes than people in many states.
After 1993, Congress didn't hold hearings on D.C. statehood for over 20 years. But in 2014, a Senate committee held a hearing on a bill that would have created a new state from D.C.
Modern Statehood Efforts
In April 2016, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called for a citywide vote on statehood. A proposed state constitution was then released. This constitution suggested that the current Mayor of D.C. would become the governor of the new state. The City Council members would become the new state's House of Delegates.
In July 2016, the D.C. Council fully approved the idea of holding the referendum.
The Ballot Question
The 2016 ballot asked D.C. voters to advise the D.C. Council on a four-part proposal. Voting "yes" meant citizens agreed that:
- D.C. should become the State of New Columbia.
- They approved a new Constitution for the State of New Columbia.
- They approved the proposed boundaries for the new state.
- The new state would have an elected, representative government.
Even though "New Columbia" was on the ballot, the D.C. Council later changed the proposed name. The new name would be the "State of Washington, D.C." The "D.C." in this new name would stand for "Douglass Commonwealth." This honors Frederick Douglass, a famous leader who fought against slavery.
Proposed New State Details
Proposed New Boundaries
The new state's boundaries would be almost the same as D.C.'s current boundaries. However, a small area around the National Mall and the White House would remain separate. This small area would stay under federal government control.
New Government Structure
The new state government would have a single legislative body with 21 members. Each member would serve a four-year term. The Governor of the new state would also serve four-year terms. The state would also be responsible for its own court system. Currently, the federal government pays for D.C.'s courts. The new state would no longer need Congress to approve its laws or budgets.
Two years after becoming a state, a special meeting would be held. This meeting would allow for changes to the state constitution. Any changes would then be voted on by the state's citizens.
Vote Results
The referendum asked, "Shall the voters of the District of Columbia advise the Council to approve or reject this proposal?" Here's how the votes turned out:
- Yes: 244,134 votes
- No: 40,779 votes
- Invalid: 26,154 votes
- Total: 311,067 votes
What Happened After the Vote
Even though most D.C. residents voted for statehood, there are still challenges. One big challenge is getting support from Congress. D.C. does not have full voting representatives in Congress right now. The national Republican Party is generally against D.C. statehood. They worry that a new state would likely elect only Democratic representatives to Congress.
Some people also believe that D.C. statehood could cause problems with the U.S. Constitution. The Constitution says there should be a special national capital that is not part of any state. This capital is meant to be a neutral place for all states to meet. If D.C. became a state, some argue a Constitutional amendment would be needed. A new, smaller federal district would also be created for the capital. However, the DC Admission Act proposes shrinking the current federal district. This would leave a small "Capital" area under federal control, while the rest of D.C. becomes a state.
In 2017, bills for D.C. statehood were introduced in Congress again. These bills, by D.C.'s non-voting Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Senator Tom Carper, did not get a vote.
After the 2018 elections, the Democratic Party gained control of the House of Representatives. Democratic leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, then supported D.C. statehood. In March 2019, the House passed a resolution supporting statehood.
In June 2020, during protests, President Donald Trump called in the District of Columbia National Guard. This angered D.C.'s mayor because the President controls the D.C. National Guard. In states, the governor controls their National Guard. On June 26, 2020, the House of Representatives voted to approve the Washington, DC Admission Act. This was the first time a chamber of Congress approved D.C. statehood. The bill then went to the Senate.
The House vote was mostly along party lines. Democrats supported statehood, and Republicans opposed it. The Trump Administration said President Trump would veto any bill making D.C. a state.
When Joe Biden was elected president in 2020, the threat of a presidential veto was removed. Biden supports D.C. statehood. However, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that with a Republican majority in the Senate, a D.C. statehood bill would not get a vote.
On January 4, 2021, Eleanor Holmes Norton reintroduced a D.C. statehood bill into Congress. On January 6, after Democrats won two Senate elections in Georgia, Senator Chuck Schumer became the new Majority Leader. He supports D.C. statehood. Mayor Muriel Bowser then asked for a statehood bill to be on President Biden's desk within 100 days. The same day, the storming of the U.S. Capitol led to more calls for D.C. statehood. During the event, the D.C. National Guard needed approval from the Secretary of the Army to help. But the Governors of Virginia and Maryland could activate their National Guard units directly.
On January 27, 2021, a similar statehood bill was introduced in the Senate by Tom Carper. On April 14, a House committee voted to pass the bill. The House then passed the bill on April 22, 2021.
