Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution

Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution grants the District of Columbia electors in the Electoral College for presidential and vice-presidential elections. Ratified on March 29, 1961, it rectified a long-standing constitutional anomaly where residents of the federal capital had no voting representation in the national executive branch. The amendment was a significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement and urban political advocacy, though it fell short of granting full congressional representation. Its passage marked the first expansion of the franchise since the Nineteenth Amendment.

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Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Background

The U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, granted Congress exclusive legislative authority over a federal district not exceeding ten miles square. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 formally placed the District of Columbia under congressional control, stripping its residents of voting rights in federal elections. For over 150 years, residents paid federal taxes and served in conflicts like World War I and the Korean War without a presidential vote. Advocacy groups, including the District of Columbia League of Women Voters and the NAACP, spearheaded the "Home Rule" movement. Legal battles, such as the Supreme Court case Hepburn v. Ellzey, reinforced the district's unique non-state status, creating the political impetus for a constitutional remedy.

Proposal and ratification

The amendment was proposed by the 86th Congress in 1960. Key sponsors included Representative Emanuel Celler of New York and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee. It passed the House on June 14, 1960, by a vote of 294 to 86, and the Senate on June 16, 1960, by a vote of 70 to 18. Opposition came primarily from Southern Democrats concerned about the district's growing African American electorate and potential political alignment with Northern liberals. Ratification proceeded swiftly, with Hawaii becoming the first state to approve on June 23, 1960. The required three-fourths of states (38) was achieved on March 29, 1961, when Kansas, Ohio, and New Mexico ratified. President John F. Kennedy certified the amendment's adoption in a proclamation on April 3, 1961.

Effect

The amendment granted the district a number of electors equal to that of the least populous state, which has consistently been three since its ratification. This allowed district residents to vote in presidential elections for the first time in the 1964 election, won by Lyndon B. Johnson. Congress implemented the amendment through the District of Columbia Presidential Electors Act, establishing the process for selecting electors. The district's electoral votes have never decided the outcome of a presidential contest, but they have become a reliable component of the Democratic Party's electoral coalition. The amendment did not address representation in the Congress or full Home Rule, which were later pursued through legislation like the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973.

Subsequent history

The amendment's limited scope fueled continued advocacy for full voting rights, leading to the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment in 1978, which failed to be ratified. The district's lack of voting representation in Congress remains a subject of political debate, often highlighted by license plate slogans reading "Taxation without representation". Legal challenges, such as those in Adams v. Clinton, have affirmed that only a constitutional amendment or statehood can grant full congressional representation. The modern D.C. statehood movement, seeking admission as the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, views the Twenty-third Amendment as an incomplete step. The amendment's legacy is a cornerstone in the ongoing national discussion about federal representation and the political rights of citizens in U.S. territories.

Category:Amendments to the United States Constitution Category:1961 in American law Category:Voting rights in the United States Category:History of Washington, D.C.