{"id":30977,"date":"2016-04-04T20:34:02","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T01:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-legal\/constitution\/amendment23.html"},"modified":"2024-09-30T14:50:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T19:50:06","slug":"amendment23","status":"publish","type":"constitution","link":"https:\/\/constitution.findlaw.com\/amendment23.html","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-Third Amendment: Including D.C. in Presidential Elections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Twenty-Third Amendment: Including D.C. in Presidential Elections<\/h1>\n
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\n By Melissa McCall, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Edward Maggio, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last reviewed\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

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From 1790 to 1961, citizens of the District of Columbia could not vote in federal elections because it is not a state. They could not vote for President, Vice-President, Members of the House of Representatives or the Senate. The Twenty-Third Amendment gave them the right to vote in federal elections for President and Vice-President of the United States.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

The U.S. Constitution’s District Clause allowed Congress to establish the District of Columbia as the federal government’s seat. However, because the District is not a state, its residents were initially unable to vote in federal elections. In 1961, the Twenty-Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave District of Columbia residents the right to vote in national presidential elections.<\/p>\r\n

Citizens of the District of Columbia gained the right to vote in presidential elections in 1961 when Ohio ratified the Twenty-Third Amendment<\/a>. However, they can vote for a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives, effectively denying them representation in Congress.<\/p>\r\n

The District of Columbia, also known as Washington, D. C., is the nation’s capital and the seat<\/a> of the United States government, as established by Congress in 1790. The White House, Supreme Court, both houses of Congress, and many federal government agencies are all located in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\r\n

Since the District of Columbia is not a state, residents could not vote in Presidential Elections for centuries after Congress established it. The Twenty-Third Amendment granted the citizens of the District of Columbia the right to vote in Presidential Elections.<\/p>\r\n

The District Clause<\/h2>\r\n

The District Clause, Article I<\/a>, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution of the United States, gave Congress the authority to create the District of Columbia. The Continental Congress<\/a> knew the nation needed an official government seat that was not in a current state and subject to that state’s authority.<\/p>\r\n

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was originally home to the Continental Congress. The District Clause gives Congress the authority to exercise authority over the District of Columbia and to receive a concession from Maryland and Virginia to create it.<\/p>\r\n

The Twenty-Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution<\/h2>\r\n

The Twenty-Third Amendment, which took effect in 1961, states:<\/p>\r\n

\u200b"The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:<\/i><\/p>\r\n

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.<\/i><\/p>\r\n

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."<\/i><\/p>\r\n

\u200bAs noted above, the 23rd Amendment gave the citizens of D.C. the right to vote in national elections for the President and Vice-President of the United States. District citizens elect Presidential electors much like other states.<\/p>\r\n

Presidential Electors<\/h2>\r\n

When we vote in national elections for President and Vice-President, we vote for pre-selected electors<\/a>. Before the Presidential election, political parties select a slate of electors in each state to participate in the Electoral College. The District gets three electoral votes in the Electoral College.<\/p>\r\n

These electors go on to vote for the Presidential candidate who won in their state (except in Maine and Nebraska, where they assign electors proportionately). They cast their votes at the meeting of electors<\/a> on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.<\/p>\r\n

In passing this Constitutional Amendment, Congress recognized that citizens of the District of Columbia had all the same obligations as citizens of other states. These obligations include the following:<\/p>\r\n