D C residents cast first presidential votes
On November 3 1964 residents of the District of Columbia cast their ballots in a presidential election for the first time.The passage of the 23rd Amendment in 1961 gave citizens of the nations capital the right to vote for a commander in chief and vice president.They went on to help Democrat Lyndon Johnson defeat Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964 the next presidential election.Between 1776 and 1800 New York and then Philadelphia served as the temporary center of government for the newly formed United States.
The capitals location was a source of much controversy and debate especially for Southern politicians who didnt want it located too far north.In 1790 Congress passed a law allowing President George Washington to choose the permanent site.As a compromise he selected a tract of undeveloped swampland on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia and began to refer to it as Federal City.
The commissioners overseeing the development of the new city picked its permanent nameWashingtonto honor the president.Congress met for the first time in Washington D.C.on November 17 1800.The District was put under the jurisdiction of Congress which terminated D.C.
residents voting rights in 1801.In 1961 the 23rd Amendment restored these rights allowing D.C.voters to choose electors for the Electoral College based on population with a maximum of as many electors as the least populated state.
With a current population of over 550000 residents 61-square-mile D.C.has three electoral votes just like Wyoming Americas smallest state population-wise.The majority of D.C.s residents are African Americans and they have voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates in past presidential elections.In 1970 Congress gave Washington D.C.
one non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives and with the passage of 1973s Home Rule Act Washingtonians got their first elected mayor and city council.In 1978 a proposed amendment would have given D.C.the right to select electors representatives and senators just like a state but it failed to pass as have subsequent calls for D.C.
statehood.
