Twenty-third Amendment: Electoral votes for Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. isn't a state, so under Article II it had no presidential electors and its residents had no vote for President. The Twenty-third Amendment, ratified in 1961, gave the District electors, capped at the number held by the smallest state. It did nothing else: D.C. still has no voting members of Congress. The lesson for a Williams resident is that your voting rights depend on where you legally live, and that is just as true at the city line as at the state line.

The text

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.

Source: National Archives transcription Verified1

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

Source: National Archives transcription Verified1

What it does, clause by clause

• "The District constituting the seat of Government ... shall appoint." The District, not a state, picks electors, "in such manner as the Congress may direct" Verified1. Congress, not a state legislature, writes the rules.
• How many. "A number of electors ... 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" Verified1.
• Counted like a state's. D.C.'s electors "shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State," and they "meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment" Verified1. See the Twelfth Amendment.
• Section 2. Congress can enforce it "by appropriate legislation" Verified1.

Why the number is 3

Article II gives each state electors "equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress," and Article I guarantees every state "at Least one Representative" Verified2. So the least populous state has two senators plus one representative: 3 electors. D.C. would have more if it were counted like a state by population, but the cap holds it to 3 Calculated2,1.

History

The Constitution put the national capital in a federal "District (not exceeding ten Miles square)" under Congress's control (Art. I, §8) Verified2. Its residents were not part of any state, so they had no electors.

The House committee report on the amendment said it would "provide the citizens of the District of Columbia with appropriate rights of voting in national elections for President and Vice President of the United States" Verified3. The report was just as clear about the limits. The amendment "would change the Constitution only to the minimum extent necessary," and "It would not make the District of Columbia a State" Verified3. It would not "change the constitutional powers of the Congress to legislate with respect to the District of Columbia and to prescribe its form of government" Verified3.

Electors after the votes are counted

When you vote for President, you are really choosing your state's electors. The Supreme Court described it this way: "every State appoints a slate of electors selected by the political party whose candidate has won the State's popular vote" (with two partial exceptions) Verified5.

Can an elector break a pledge and vote for someone else? In Chiafalo v. Washington (2020), three Washington electors who did so challenged the fines they received. The Court upheld the state's law, noting that "32 States and the District of Columbia" have statutes meant to prevent "faithless voting" (Chiafalo v. Washington, 591 U.S. 578 (2020)) Verified5. The District is on that list. That fits the amendment's design: D.C.'s electors are treated as if a state had appointed them.

In Williams

The Twenty-third Amendment doesn't touch Williams directly. Its theme does: your vote depends on where you legally live.

• City elections are for city residents. A qualified voter "may vote at any election held within the territory within which he or she resides and the election is held" (Elections Code §2000) Verified4. Someone living in unincorporated Colusa County just outside town can't vote for the Williams City Council, even if they shop, work or pay utility bills in town. Our reading: that's the D.C. problem at local scale. Annexation (moving the city line) changes who gets a vote.
• Running for council works the same way. A council candidate must be "an elector of the city" when taking office, and if a council member moves "outside of the city limits ... his or her office shall immediately become vacant" (Gov. Code §36502) Verified6.
• Williams in a presidential year. Williams voters help choose California's electors. California has two senators plus its House seats, the same Article II formula that sets D.C.'s cap Verified2. See Article II.

We have not found any Williams- or Colusa-specific history connected to this amendment.

Common misconceptions

• "The Twenty-third Amendment made D.C. a state." The House report says outright that it "would not make the District of Columbia a State" Verified3.
• "D.C. has a voting member of Congress." The amendment covers only presidential electors Verified1.
• "D.C.'s electors are based on its population." Population is the starting point, but the number can never be more than the least populous state's Verified1.
• "Anyone near Williams can vote in city elections." Only people who live inside the city limits can Verified4.

Check yourself

Pick an answer for each question. You will see right away if it is right, and why.