Electors for the District of Columbia

Discussing the Twenty-Third Amendment and related voting rights issues. Contending that the Amendment would have to be repealed to allow for D.C. statehood. Noting that the original goal of the Amendment was to empower the electoral power of the district but that it ironically now stands in the way when D.C. seeks to enlarge that power.

Analyzing the original meaning of the electoral college and constitutional purpose by looking to primary sources. Arguing that contemporary arguments based on history that members of the electoral college can vote against the popular vote are flawed and that electors were expected to exercise their own discretion only when the people were unable to decide on a presidential candidate. Explaining that the faithless elector example also displays the distinction between constitutional interpretation and construction.

Analyzing the constitutional, legal, and practical arguments against D.C. statehood and citing contemporary evidence around the drafting and ratification of the Twenty-Third Amendment. Discussing support for the idea that the non-federal parts of D.C. could be converted by an act of Congress into a state without amending the Constitution and arguing that the Twenty-Third Amendment would then become “moot.”

Analyzing the various arguments for and against D.C. statehood, including reducing the district to its federal buildings and turning the rest into a state. Arguing that the Framers’ intended the people of D.C. to be represented in Congress, citing founding-era sources and drawing on other primary sources.