 | |
| Number of elections | 15 |
|---|---|
| Voted Democratic | 15 |
| Voted Republican | 0 |
| Voted other | 0 |
| Voted for winning candidate | 7 |
| Voted for losing candidate | 8 |
The District of Columbia is a political division coterminous with Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States.[1] Since the enactment of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution in 1961,[2] the district has participated in 15 presidential elections. The amendment states that it cannot have more electoral votes than the state with the smallest number of electors.[3] Since then, it has been allocated three electoral votes in every presidential election.[4] The Democratic Party has immense political strength in the district. In each of the 15 presidential elections, the district has overwhelmingly voted for the Democratic candidate, with no margin less than 56.5 percentage points. It has been won by the losing candidate in 8 of the 15 elections.
In the 2000 presidential election, Barbara Lett-Simmons, an elector from the district, left her ballot blank to protest its lack of voting representation in Congress. As a result, Al Gore received only two of the three electoral votes from Washington, D.C.[5] In 2016, 85.7% of the registered voters approved a statehood referendum.[6] In recent times, there have been various statehood movements in the District of Columbia, which advocates making the district a state.[7][8]
The district is a signatory of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an interstate compact in which signatories award all of their electoral votes to the winner of the national-level popular vote in a presidential election, even if another candidate won an individual signatory's popular vote. As of 2023,[update] it has not yet gone into force.[9]
- ^ Grogg, Robert (2013). "Introduction: Where Oh Where Should the Capital Be?". White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Presidential Vote for D.C." National Constitution Center. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Presidential electors for D.C." (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Distribution of Electoral Votes". National Archives and Records Administration. 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ Stout, David (December 19, 2000). "The 43rd President, The Electoral College: The Electors Vote, and the Surprises Are Few". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "DC Voters Elect Gray to Council, Approve Statehood Measure". NBC News. November 7, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Greve, Joan E. (May 3, 2021). "'Our moment is now': can Washington DC statehood finally become a reality?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ Flynn, Meagan (April 22, 2021). "House Democrats pass D.C. statehood, launching bill into uncharted territory". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Status of National Popular Vote Bill in Each State". National Popular Vote Inc. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
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