D.C. statehood mired in partisan divide By Jordan Conestabile
The House of Representative recently passed the D.C. Admissions Act, which would make the District of Columbia the 51st state. The new “Washington Douglas Commonwealth” would have a larger population than Vermont and Wyoming.
Photo from DC.gov
Opponents have cited procees, arguing that the adoption of a new state can only take place through a constitutional amendment. Any Congressional Act absent this would be violate the 23rd amendment.
Supporters believe that any challenge brought forth to the Supreme Court would not be acted upon, since history has shown that the Court has never interfered with Congress admission of a state into the union, citing the case of West Virginia.
Divisions have emerged around partisanship with Republicans opposing statehood and Democrats supporting it. Electoral strategy underscores these dynamics as the D.C. is overwhelmingly Democratic, potentially providing Democrats two new Senators and one House Representative. The current split makes it difficult to secure the 60 votes necessary for the measure to pass in the Senate.
Photo from Sen. Mitt Romney
Senator Mitt Romney (UT, R) has put forth “retrocession” as an alternative. Instead of creating a new state, carve out the area to be designated as the Capitol and move the remaining portions to the states Virginia and Maryland.
Absent a resolution, 700,000 residents of the district lack voting representation in Congress.
Jordan Conestabile is a Political Science student at Utica College
