Comparison of Approaches thatCongress and/or States Could Take to Grant Washington, D.C., Citizens Greater orEqual Political RightMark David RichardsFebruary 2001

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Updated: 02:10 pm UTC, 14/10/2024

Comparison of Approaches That Congress and/or States
Could Take To Grant Washington, D.C. Citizens Greater or Equal Political
Rights

SEND COMMENTS TO: Mark David Richards, [email protected],
February 2001

	Make DC the State of New Columbia (Statehood)	Make DC Part of the State of Maryland (Retrocession)	Pass an Equal Constitutional Rights Amendment	Pass an Equal Voting Rights Amendment
Would this approach grant DC political equality, that is, the same rights as citizens who live in states?	Yes.	Yes.	No—Congress could retain authority over issues of national security.	No—Congress would retain exclusive legislative authority.
Could this decision be reversed?	No.	Yes—Unlikely, but the federal government and the State of Maryland could agree to reverse the decision.	Yes—Constitutional amendments can be changed by other Constitutional amendments.	Yes—Constitutional amendments can be changed by other Constitutional amendments.
Would DC citizens have equal voting rights in Senate and House of Representatives?	Yes—DC citizens would remain a group and elect their own representatives.	Yes—DC citizens would become a part of Maryland, and elect their own representatives as part of Maryland.	Yes—DC citizens would remain a group and elect their own representatives.	Yes—DC citizens would remain a group and elect their own representatives.
Would the name Washington, D.C., remain the same?	No—The federal portion, known as the National Capital Service Area (NCSA), would remain Washington, DC, and DC’s more than 120 neighborhoods and commercial center would become the State of New Columbia.	No—The federal portion, known as the NCSA, would remain Washington, DC, and DC’s more than 120 neighborhoods and commercial center would likely become a county or be merged into counties of Maryland.	Yes—The name would remain Washington, D.C. Congress would retain exclusive legislative control over the NCSA.	Yes— The name would remain Washington, D.C. Congress would retain exclusive legislative control over the whole area.
Would DC citizens have full and equal protections under the law?	Yes—DC would have full and equal constitutional rights, equal to other states.	Yes—DC would have full and equal constitutional rights that citizens of Maryland currently enjoy.	Yes—DC would have full and equal constitutional rights, equal to other states, unless an area of federal interest—such as national security—were singled out to remain under the exclusive legislative authority of Congress.	No—Although DC would gain equal voting rights, DC would not be guaranteed equal protections.
Would Congress retain Exclusive Legislative authority over the District, including the power to annul any District law or budgetary priority?	No—DC would have the right to republican forms of self-government. Congress could intervene in its affairs only to the degree they can do so in other states.	No—DC would have the right to republican forms of self-government as a part of Maryland. However, the State of Maryland may have new powers over the District.	No—DC would have the right to republican forms of self-government. Congress could intervene in its affairs only to the degree they can do so in other states, unless provided for in the Amendment.	Yes—While having a vote in Congress (2 of 102 in the Senate and 1 of 435 in the House) would likely provide added voice to DC in Congress and might forestall intervention into D.C. local issues, there would be no guarantees that local legislation would not be annulled, or budgetary priorities overruled.
Would the current District governance structure—with a mayor, a 13-member council, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners—stay the same?	No—The governance structure currently outlined in the D.C. Constitution passed by citizens for the State of New Columbia, which could be modified by DC citizens, calls for a Governor and a 40-member unicameral legislature with single member districts.	Maybe—The governance structure would have to be approved by the state of Maryland, which would determine the charter for the area that would be created.	Maybe—The governance structure would have to be approved by the citizens of the District. They could keep the current structure, or establish another one.	Maybe—Like now, the structure would be up to Congress to keep or change.
What would be required to accomplish this?	DC citizens need to call a Constitutional Convention, pass a Constitution, and request that Congress make DC a state. A simple majority of Congress is necessary.	The state of Maryland, a majority of Congress, and a majority of DC citizens would need to demonstrate majority support.	Two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the 50 states would need to support.	Two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the 50 states would need to support.
Has this been attempted before?	Yes—DC citizens called a Constitutional Convention and approved a state Constitution in 1982. DC currently elects 2 "shadow" Senators and a "shadow" Representative to lobby for statehood (this was the approach taken by many territories when they sought statehood). In 1993, the House of Representatives voted on and rejected DC statehood (277 against, 153 for, 4 not voting). A bill can be reintroduced.	Yes—Retrocession of the portions of the District outside of Washington City was discussed and Memorials were introduced into Congress numerous times before the Civil War (1803, 1804, 1818, 1834, 1838, 1839, 1841) until the southern portion south of the Potomac River was retroceded to Virginia in 1846. Retrocession of Georgetown and Washington County was discussed in 1848, 1850 and 1856. After the Civil War, the discussion turned to how to bring back the Virginia portion to the District. In recent years, some have discussed Retrocession, but the State of Maryland has never expressed an interest.	No.	Yes—Even before the District was established, DC citizens discussed passing an Amendment for voting rights in Congress, but until the early 1900s there was little organized effort. Throughout the 20^th century there were efforts to pass an Amendment. In 1978, Congress passed an Amendment, but time ran out before the required number of states approved (16 of the 38 needed approved the amendment).
Do DC citizens support this approach?	In a Washington Post representative survey of DC citizens in 2000, 58% supported statehood, 36% opposed (A majority of Caucasians oppose).	In a Wirthlin representative survey of DC citizens in 1994, 19% supported merging DC into Maryland.	No current survey data is available.	No current survey data is available. —In a representative survey of DC citizens in 1984, 77% supported such an amendment.
Would the American public support this approach?	Maybe—Citizens are not informed about the nature of the problem, so most are not sure why DC citizens would want to be a state. In a Richards nationally representative survey in 1999, 19% did not think DC citizens should have equal voting rights in the Senate and the House (72% did). However, 57% of those who believe DC citizens should have equal rights say they would support DC statehood.	Maybe—In a Richards nationally representative survey in 1999, 19% did not think DC citizens should have equal voting rights in the Senate and the House (72% did). However, 59% of those who believe DC citizens should have equal rights say they would support merging DC into Maryland.	Maybe—In a Richards nationally representative survey in 1999, 19% did not think DC citizens should have equal voting rights in the Senate and the House (72% did). However, 82% of those who believe DC citizens should have equal rights say they would support an amendment for Equal Constitutional Rights for DC citizens.	Maybe