How Are Washingtonians Represented in Congress?
One of the reasons Alexandria wanted to go back to being a part of Virginia was that residents of the District of Columbia were not represented in Congress. (Many other factors played into the final decision to retrocede – economic decline due to neglect by Congress, issues arising from slavery and the impending emancipation, etc. – but representation in Congress was a big one.) Because the District of Columbia is not a state, Washingtonians still can’t elect voting Senators or Representatives to Congress. However, as of 1961, with the ratification of the 23rd Amendment, residents of the district can now vote for the offices of President and Vice President, and they have Electors in the Electoral College representing them as though they were a state. The 23rd Amendment grants them representation for Presidential and Vice Presidential elections based on the population of the district (as though they were a state), but the number of Electors sent by the District of Columbia may not excee
