District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment

The **District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment** was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would have given the District of Columbia full representation in the United States Congress, full representation in the Electoral college system, and full participation in how the Constitution is amended. It was proposed by Congress on August 22, 1978. It was ratified by only 16 states by the time it expired on August 22, 1985. It was 22 ratifications short of the needed 38 in order for the proposed amendment to have been adopted.

## Legislative history

Representative Don Edwards of California proposed House Joint Resolution 554 in the 95th Congress. The United States House of Representatives passed it on March 2, 1978, by a 289–127 vote, with 18 not voting. The United States Senate passed it on August 22, 1978, by a 67–32 vote, with 1 not voting. With that, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. The Congress included in the text of the proposed amendment that included the requirement that ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states be completed within seven years following its passage by the Congress (i.e., August 22, 1985) in order for the proposed amendment to become part of the Constitution. By placing the ratification deadline in the text of the proposed amendment, the deadline could not be extended, as had been done regarding the Equal Rights Amendment.

## Ratification history

Ratification by the legislatures of at least 38 of the 50 states by August 22, 1985 was necessary for the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment to become a part of the Constitution. During the seven-year period specified by Congress it was ratified by only 16 states and so failed to be adopted. The amendment was ratified by the following states:

1. New Jersey on September 11, 1978
1. Michigan on December 13, 1978
1. Ohio on December 21, 1978
1. Minnesota on March 19, 1979
1. Massachusetts on March 19, 1979
1. Connecticut on April 11, 1979
1. Wisconsin on November 1, 1979
1. Maryland on March 19, 1980
1. Hawaii on April 17, 1980
1. Oregon on July 6, 1981
1. Maine on February 16, 1983
1. West Virginia on February 23, 1983
1. Rhode Island on May 13, 1983
1. Iowa on January 19, 1984
1. Louisiana on June 24, 1984
1. Delaware on June 28, 1984

## Effects if it had been adopted

If it had been adopted, this amendment would have given Washington, D.C. full representation in both houses of the Congress. It would have repealed the Twenty-third Amendment. The Twenty-third Amendment does not allow Washington, D.C. to have more electoral votes "than the least populous State," nor does it grant Washington, D.C. any role in the election of a President by the House of Representatives (or that of the Vice President by the Senate). This would have provided Washington, D.C. full participation in the Electoral College. It would have also allowed the Council of the District of Columbia, the Congress, or the people of Washington D.C. (depending on how this proposed amendment would have been interpreted) to decide whether to ratify any proposed amendment to the Constitution, or to apply to the Congress for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, just as a state's legislature can according to the Constitutional amendment process. The amendment would not have made Washington, D.C. a state, nor affected Congress's authority over it.