Delegates and DC

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  • #20879

    Unlike the States, DC is represented by an elected delegate.

    What are the powers of an elected delegate in congress?

    Is this constitutional?

    How did the founders envision the role of DC in the Government?

    Is upgrading the DC delegate to a full congresswoman(the delegate is currently a woman) constitutional?

    #20880
    gutzmank
    Participant

    Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution says, “The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.” My position is that since the District of Columbia is not a state, it isn’t to have House members.

    Presently, DC and some territories have delegates in the House. They are allowed to vote in committees, which I see as unconstitutional. The politics of the question are highly race-correlated, so although all of the delegates are Democrats, it’s unlikely that Republicans will ever rectify the situation.

    #20881

    I was wondering if the Democrats had any constitutional leg to stand on in regards to this issue.

    So what is the Constitutional response to the reply “The people of DC deserve to be represented in Congress, just like the States”.

    Is an acceptable rebuttal that the Constitution should be legally amended?

    #20882
    gutzmank
    Participant

    “The people of DC deserve to be represented in Congress” sounds to me like an argument for a constitutional amendment; it is indeed very similar to arguments that were offered in relation to the Electoral College in support of the 23rd Amendment.

    #20883
    dccmd
    Member

    The right answer is to retrocede the residential areas of DC to Maryland in the same manner that about one-third of the original DC was retroceded to Virginia (its entire original contribution), keeping only the federally owned areas. Then DC residents could participate fully in the politics of Maryland. This does not require a constitutional amendment, since the Constitution does not specify a minimum area for the national capital (only a maximum area).
    Daniel Clyde Cummings
    dccmd@hotmail.com

    #22381
    gutzmank
    Participant

    I agree that it’s not clear what purpose is now served by having large residential areas in D.C.

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