Editing Washington, D.C. (section)

== Federal voting rights ==
{{See also|District of Columbia voting rights|Political party strength in Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia federal voting rights}}
[[File:Washington, D.C. license plate, 2017.png|thumb|The city's [[Vehicle registration plates of Washington, D.C.|license plate]], which calls for an end to [[No taxation without representation|taxation without representation]]]]
[[File:WashMonument WhiteHouse.jpg|thumb|The [[Washington Monument]] (forefront) and [[White House]] (center) in September 2003. Since 1961, the city's residents can vote for the [[President of the United States|U.S. president]] and [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], who also serves as [[President of the Senate]].]]
[[File:Abraham Lincoln v2.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Statue of Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln Memorial)|Abraham Lincoln Statue]]'' at the [[Lincoln Memorial]] in September 2016]]
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Congress controlled the Federal District from its establishment, and did not make a provision for federal representation of the people living there. That changed in 1961, when the 23rd amendment was ratified by the states, and Washington, D.C. was granted three electoral college votes in each presidential election. In 1978 another amendment was passed but not ratified by the states to grant D.C. congressional representation. In 2021, a bill to make D.C. a state passed the House of Representatives but not Senate. Congress has the power to add a state, but an amendment must be ratified by the states.

Washington, D.C. is not a state and therefore has no federal voting representation in [[United States Congress|Congress]]. The city's residents elect a [[Non-voting members of the United States House of representatives|non-voting delegate]] to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] ([[District of Columbia's at-large congressional district|D.C. at-large]]), who may sit on committees, participate in debate, and introduce legislation, but cannot vote on the [[Floor (legislative)|House floor]]. The district has no official representation in the [[United States Senate]]. Neither chamber seats the district's elected [[Shadow congressperson|"shadow" representative or senators]]. Unlike residents of [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories]] such as [[Puerto Rico]] or [[Guam]], which also have non-voting delegates, D.C. residents are subject to all federal taxes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Individuals-Living-or-Working-in-U.S.-Possessions |title=Individuals Living or Working in U.S. Possessions |access-date=December 2, 2012 |publisher=[[Internal Revenue Service]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202114846/http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Individuals-Living-or-Working-in-U.S.-Possessions |archive-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref> In the financial year 2012, D.C. residents and businesses paid $20.7&nbsp;billion in federal taxes, more than the taxes collected from 19 states and the highest [[Federal tax revenue by state|federal taxes per capita]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/12db05co.xls |title=Internal Revenue Gross Collections, by Type of Tax and State, Fiscal Year 2012 |access-date=September 5, 2013 |format=XLS |publisher=Internal Revenue Service |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020202246/http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/12db05co.xls |url-status=live }}</ref>

A 2005 poll found that 78% of Americans did not know residents of Washington, D.C., have less representation in Congress than residents of the 50 states.<ref name="votepoll">{{cite web |url=http://www.dcvote.org/newsletter/spring05.pdf |title=Poll Shows Nationwide Support for DC Voting Rights |access-date=May 29, 2008 |year=2005 |work=DC Vote Voice |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624204729/http://www.dcvote.org/newsletter/spring05.pdf |archive-date=June 24, 2008}}</ref> Efforts to raise awareness about the issue have included campaigns by [[grassroots]] organizations and featuring the city's unofficial motto, "[[No taxation without representation|End Taxation Without Representation]]", on [[Vehicle registration plates of Washington, D.C.|D.C. vehicle license plates]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dmv.dc.gov/node/156462 |title='Taxation without Representation' Tags |access-date=December 2, 2012 |publisher=District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115081252/http://dmv.dc.gov/node/156462 |archive-date=January 15, 2013}}</ref> There is evidence of nationwide approval for D.C. voting rights; various polls indicate that 61 to 82% of Americans believe D.C. should have voting representation in Congress.<ref name="votepoll" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Washington Post Poll: D.C. Voting Rights |date=April 23, 2007 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_042307.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 10, 2008 |archive-date=May 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504041611/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/postpoll_042307.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Opponents to federal voting rights for Washington, D.C., propose that the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]] never intended for district residents to have a vote in Congress since the Constitution makes clear that representation must come from the states. Those opposed to making the District of Columbia a state say such a move would destroy the notion of a separate national capital and that statehood would unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Fortier |title=The D.C. colony |date=May 17, 2006 |url=http://thehill.com/component/content/article/275-john-fortier/4948-the-dc-colony |work=The Hill |access-date=October 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112065946/http://thehill.com/component/content/article/275-john-fortier/4948-the-dc-colony |archive-date=November 12, 2010}}</ref>

The District was granted presidential voting rights by the 23rd Amendment in 1961.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/american-democracy/online/vote-voice/getting-vote/sometimes-it-takes-amendment/twenty-third |title=The Twenty-Third Amendment, 1961 |website=[[National Museum of American History]] |access-date=November 19, 2024}}</ref> The [[Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution|23rd Amendment]] was ratified which granted the people of the Washington, D.C., the right to vote for the president. This was done by giving them electoral college votes they would get if they were a state, but it must be no more than the least a state has; this works out to three electoral college votes. The amendment reads, ".. 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".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-23/ |title=Twenty-Third Amendment |website=Congress.gov |access-date=November 19, 2024}}</ref> The 23rd Amendment could complicate statehood, because it would apply even if the federal district was shrunk, and undoing the amendment requires another amendment.<ref name="sthd101" /> Congress must operate from a district it controls, but it can be no larger than ten miles on a side; the 2021 statehood bill got around this by proposing the federal district be shrunk to an area roughly the size of the national mall.<ref name="sthd101" />

In 1978, the [[District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment]] was passed, which would have granted D.C. Congressional representation, but it expired in 1986 without being ratified into law.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.history.com/news/washington-dc-statehood-reconstruction |title=Why Isn't Washington, D.C. a State? |date=August 11, 2023 |orig-date=First published June 17, 2020 |website=[[History.com]] |first=Becky |last=Little |access-date=November 19, 2024}}</ref> In 2021, a bill was introduced to congress for [[District of Columbia retrocession|retroceding the district]] to Maryland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2021/04/22/gop-senator-introduces-bill-to-give-dc-to-maryland-as-statehood-bill-heads-to-senate/|title=GOP Senator Introduces Bill To Give D.C. To Maryland As Statehood Bill Heads To Senate|first=Andrew|last=Solender|website=Forbes}}</ref> The idea was that by returning the area to Maryland, the residents would have normal State representation.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/this-man-wants-to-make-the-district-the-24th-county-in-maryland-heres-how-his-plan-would-work/2019/10/13/b291fed4-de50-11e9-be96-6adb81821e90_story.html]</ref>