Amendment XXIII
Presidential Vote for District of Columbia
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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.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Ratified: March 29, 1961
The 23rd Amendment, which grants Washington D.C. electoral votes, was proposed on June 17, 1960.
| # | State | Date | * |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | Jun 23, 1960 | |
| 2 | Massachusetts | Aug 22, 1960 | |
| 3 | New Jersey | Dec 19, 1960 | |
| 4 | New York | Jan 17, 1961 | |
| 5 | California | Jan 19, 1961 | |
| 6 | Oregon | Jan 27, 1961 | |
| 7 | Maryland | Jan 30, 1961 | |
| 8 | Idaho | Jan 31, 1961 | |
| 9 | Maine | Jan 31, 1961 | |
| 10 | Minnesota | Jan 31, 1961 | |
| 11 | New Mexico | Feb 1, 1961 | |
| 12 | Nevada | Feb 2, 1961 | |
| 13 | Montana | Feb 6, 1961 | |
| 14 | South Dakota | Feb 6, 1961 | |
| 15 | Colorado | Feb 8, 1961 | |
| 16 | Washington | Feb 9, 1961 | |
| 17 | West Virginia | Feb 9, 1961 | |
| 18 | Alaska | Feb 10, 1961 | |
| 19 | Wyoming | Feb 13, 1961 | |
| 20 | Delaware | Feb 20, 1961 | |
| 21 | Utah | Feb 21, 1961 | |
| 22 | Wisconsin | Feb 21, 1961 | |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | Feb 28, 1961 | |
| 24 | Indiana | Mar 3, 1961 | |
| 25 | North Dakota | Mar 3, 1961 | |
| 26 | Tennessee | Mar 6, 1961 | |
| 27 | Michigan | Mar 8, 1961 | |
| 28 | Connecticut | Mar 9, 1961 | |
| 29 | Arizona | Mar 10, 1961 | |
| 30 | Illinois | Mar 14, 1961 | |
| 31 | Nebraska | Mar 15, 1961 | |
| 32 | Vermont | Mar 15, 1961 | |
| 33 | Iowa | Mar 16, 1961 | |
| 34 | Missouri | Mar 20, 1961 | |
| 35 | Oklahoma | Mar 21, 1961 | |
| 36 | Rhode Island | Mar 22, 1961 | |
| 37 | Kansas | Mar 29, 1961 | |
| 38 | Ohio | Mar 29, 1961 | * |
| 39 | New Hampshire | Mar 30, 1961 | |
| 40 | Alabama | Apr 16, 2002 | |
| Ratified in 285 days | |||
This amendment was specifically rejected by Arkansas on Jan 24, 1961. New Hampshire ratified on Mar 29, 1961 but then rescinded the ratification the same day.
History: The District of Columbia has been a unique city since its founding in 1800 as the seat of the new government. When first established, it was a town of 5000, and it was assumed that it would be the center of government, and not a population center. But by 1900, over a quarter of a million people lived within its bounds. Since it is a federal district, however, and not a state, the inhabitants not only had no real local government, they had no vote in the federal government either. By 1960, when 760,000 people lived in Washington, D.C., it seemed odd that people from a dozen states, with lower populations, had more voting rights than residents of the District. As citizens, they were required to pay taxes and to serve in the military, but a vote in the Presidential election was available only to the states.
It is important to note that the 23rd Amendment does not make Washington, D.C., a state; it just confers upon its citizens the number of electors that it would have if it were a state. It also did not provide full representation in Congress for the District. The Congress passed the amendment on June 17, 1960; the amendment was ratified on March 29, 1961 (285 days).
