District of Columbia voting rights facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Voting rights in District of Columbia
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| Demographics | |
| Minimum voting age | 18 |
| Preregistration age | 16 |
| Felon voting status | No prohibition |
| Voter registration | |
| Voter registration required | Yes |
| Online voter registration | Yes (since 2015) |
| Automatic voter registration | Yes (since 2018) |
| Same-day registration | Yes |
| Partisan affiliation | Yes |
| Voting process | |
| In-person early-voting status | seven days prior |
| Postal ballot status | Yes (up to 15 days prior) |
| Straight-ticket device status | No |
| Election method | First-past-the-post (plurality) |
| Voter powers | |
| Ballot question rights | initiative and veto referendum |
| Recall powers | For all local officials, except for the district delegate; incumbent may not be recalled during first and last years in office |
| Federal representation level | Territory-level |
Voting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from the rights of citizens in each of the 50 U.S. states. The Constitution grants each state voting representation in both houses of the United States Congress. As the federal capital, the District of Columbia is a special federal district, not a state, and therefore does not have voting representation in Congress. The Constitution grants Congress exclusive jurisdiction over the District in "all cases whatsoever".
In the House of Representatives, the District is represented by a delegate, who is not allowed to vote on the House floor but can vote on procedural matters and in congressional committees. D.C. residents have no representation in the Senate. The Twenty-third Amendment, adopted in 1961, entitles the District to the same number of electoral votes as that of the least populous state in the election of the president and vice president.
The District's lack of voting representation in Congress has been an issue since the capital's founding. Numerous proposals have been introduced to change this situation, including legislation and constitutional amendments, returning the District to the state of Maryland, and making the District into a new state. All proposals have been met with political or constitutional challenges, and there has been no change in the District's representation in Congress.
Arguments for and against
There are arguments both for and against giving the District of Columbia voting representation in Congress.
Advocates of voting representation for the District of Columbia argue that as citizens living in the United States, the District's estimated 672,228 residents should have the same right to determine how they are governed as citizens of a state.
The primary objection to legislative proposals to grant the District voting rights is that some Constitution provisions suggest that such an action would be unconstitutional. Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]] correspondingly describes the election of "two Senators from each State". Those who believe D.C. voting rights legislation would be unconstitutional point out that the District of Columbia is not a U.S. state.
Political considerations
Several bills have been introduced in Congress to grant the District of Columbia voting representation in one or both houses of Congress.
Opponents of D.C. voting rights have also contended that the District is too small to warrant representation in the House and Senate. However, sponsors of voting rights legislation point out that both Wyoming and Vermont have a smaller population than the District of Columbia.
In modern times, all elections held in the district have been overwhelmingly won by the Democratic Party. The Democrats' support of increased D.C. representation in Congress and the Republicans' opposition to it have been alleged to be purely for self-serving reasons.
Human rights
Since 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Committee report has cited the United States for denying D.C. residents voting rights in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a treaty the United States ratified in 1992.
In 2015, D.C. became a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.
Proposed reforms
Advocates for D.C. voting rights have proposed several competing reforms to increase the District's representation in Congress. These proposals generally involve either treating D.C. more like a state or allowing Maryland to take back the land it ceded to form the District.
