Why does district of columbia have electors

Originally, the District of Columbia contained two counties divided by the Potomac, Washington and Alexandria. Washington, ceded by Maryland, encompassed about twice the size of Alexandria, ceded by Virginia. Roughly, that ratio today applies as to the relevant populations of Washington and the area receded to Virginia.

The District of Columbia has a current population of , Census Bureau, , which is somewhat more than twice the population of the area receded to Virginia. Pursuant to the census, congressional districts were allocated to the States generally on the basis of having one seat in the House of Representatives for roughly every , people Congressional Apportionment, Census Briefs, November Two States Vermont and Wyoming , however, have a population of fewer than , Nevertheless, they are still entitled to one member of the House of Representatives, as provided by the Constitution in Article I, Section 2.

Five other states Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota with only one member of the House have populations over , with Montana having the most: 1,, The District of Columbia receives very special treatment otherwise reserved for the rare case of sparsely populated States.

Those States are given that privilege as States in recognition that some largely rural States will be sparsely populated. The District of Columbia lacks the status of statehood not only for constitutional reasons discussed below, but because it is a city.

The United States, unlike medieval Europe, does not have city-states. Had the population of the District been combined with that of Maryland, however, it is likely that Maryland would have gained one more member of the House and another electoral vote.

Nevertheless, Maryland would not have received the two additional electoral votes awarded D. Even if D. The equal representation of each State in the Senate by two senators is not based on population, but on the residual sovereignty of each State. The District of Columbia does not have residual sovereignty. In effect, the Twenty-Third Amendment increases the powers of Congress. In , a proposed amendment would have given D. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

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Laika, part Siberian husky, lived as a stray on the Moscow streets before being enlisted into the Soviet space program. Laika survived for a few hours as a passenger in the When you vote for a Presidential candidate you are actually voting for your candidate's preferred electors. Learn more about voting for the electors. After the general election, your Governor prepares a Certificate of Ascertainment listing the names of all the individuals on the slates for each candidate.

The Certificate of Ascertainment also lists the number of votes each individual received and shows which individuals were appointed as your State's electors. The meeting of the electors takes place on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December after the general election.

In , Congress passed emergency legislation dividing the District into two counties, Washington County where Maryland laws would apply, and Alexandria County where Virginia laws would apply The Virginia part of the District was returned to Virginia in Citizens in Washington City favoring self-government organized protests and meetings, and in , petitioned Congress for a municipal charter.

The Charter granted by Congress made Washington an incorporated city and gave voters the right to elect a local legislature called a Council that could pass laws and levy a tax on real estate to pay for city services. The local government also included a mayor appointed by the President.

Nearly seventy years later, Georgetown, Washington City, and Washington County were absorbed into a new territory governed by a governor and a council appointed by the President, a popularly-elected house of delegates, and a non-voting delegate to Congress.

The territorial government lasted about three years until replaced by a temporary board of three commissioners appointed by the President. During this period, District residents and Congressional supporters continued to press for self-government and representation in Congress. The Senate passed bills providing some form of home rule six times between and , but, each time a similar bill died in the House District of Columbia Committee.