Talk:Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution

Untitled
Just curious, but if we want to give representation to DC, couldn't we give them a single Senator? I know the Constitution doesn't allow unequal representation in the Senate, but that specifically refers to States only. Just give them one Senator and one Rep, and things will be fair. Xyzzyva 21:31, May 31, 2005 (UTC)
 * I think that would open a can of worms. Vermont and Wyoming have fewer people than the District, which would raise questions. Why would DC still be a second-class state? Would it be appropriate to reduce the representation of Vermont and Wyoming? Unfortunately, the politics of DC statehood make it virtually impossible. --BDD (talk) 16:06, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

In the article, the author mentions a bill that, if passed, would have allowed DC congressional representation. What source was used for this? Is there a link to the text of this bill? I would like to read it. Wandering Star 02:22, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Limit on number of electors
Does anyone know the reasoning behind the amendment's convoluted wording on the number of Electors the district can have -- as many as it would get if it were a state, but not more than the smallest state? Doesn't this by definition mean essentially that it will have as many electors as the smallest state in all cases, no matter what its population? --Jfruh (talk) 23:53, 27 September 2006 (UTC)


 * The only way DC could end up with more than 3 votes is if the smallest state was given more than one seat in the house, but if that were to happen, and the state were to have significantly more people than DC, DC might still have only 3 votes, thus even less than the smallest state. But that scenario is so unlikely that basically, under current law, DC will always have 3 electoral votes.  Xyzzyva 10:52, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

History
There's no history given for the amendment. Who proposed it, when, why? Why is the wording like it is? Etc. Hairy Dude (talk) 06:52, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

The answer may lie in Arlington.
I do remember a move during the 60s-70s to transfer the populations of Anacostia and Georgetown to Maryland. Legally it was compared to remanding Arlington to Virginia. (Arlington is the south west corner of the federal district measuring ten miles by tem miles square, now an independent city in Virginia. see any map; the grid of numbered and alphabetically sequenced one syllable, then two syllable-named streets is the same as DC's ... )

More complicated proposals would have included more residential areas, not only the two previously incorporated towns apart from Washington. The Maryland representatives on the House committee, mostly from Baltimore, Republican and Democrat together, killed every bill in committee. (Missouri is bi-polar by St. Louis - Kansas City. Would Baltimore state delegates ever petition Congress and so set up a competitive power center that DC metro would inevitably become?)

Has anyone seen a write up on the Congressional history of the bill/amendment starting back that far? TheVirginiaHistorian (talk) 22:38, 3 March 2011 (UTC)