Today in Supreme Court History: June 16, 1960

6/16/1960: The 23rd Amendment is submitted to the states.

Comments

[JoeFromtheBronx]

Another leading moment in SCOTUS history:

Twenty-Third Amendment

Section 1

The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

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; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The leading SCOTUS connection might be that a different amendment, regarding a voting member of Congress, was not passed. A later failed amendment would have treated D.C. as a state for purposes of congressional representation.

A few people argue we need a separate amendment for D.C. statehood, in part, perhaps referencing this amendment.

It very well might be ideal to have an amendment to address the situation, including a compromise approach (a voting member of the House alone, for instance), but it is not necessary.

For instance, Congress can control a small "district" that is mostly governmental buildings. The three electoral votes can be allotted based on the national population.

We also could and should have an amendment addressing the voting rights of territorial residents overall. Why shouldn't American citizens residing in Puerto Rico or Guam not vote for president?

[Supremacy Claus]

Puerto Rico wants to leave the USA and to become part of Spain. Good idea.

[SMP0328]

A later failed amendment would have treated D.C. as a state for purposes of congressional representation.

That would be the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment:

Section 1. For purposes of representation in the Congress, election of the President and Vice President, and article V of this Constitution, the District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall be treated as though it were a State.

Section 2. The exercise of the rights and powers conferred under this article shall be by the people of the District constituting the seat of government, and as shall be provided by the Congress.

Section 3. The twenty-third article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 4. This article shall be inoperative, unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission.

It received only 16 ratifications (38 needed for adoption). Section 4 prevented any effort to extend the ratification deadline or challenge the deadline's legitimacy (definitely had the ERA in mind).