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In 1961, the 23rd Constitutional Amendment addressed one of the inherent inequalities and a unique mechanism was created to
count votes in the Electoral College during the Presidential election. Washington DC was granted two electoral votes, as
if it were a state. Thus, the 1964 presidential election was first in which residents of the District of Columbia voted.
Still there was no congressional representation. In 1968 Congress created the Board of Education in which local leaders
were elected by residents to serve the city. It was the first democratically elected body in the city with members from each
of Washington's eight wards. The year 1970 was when Congress allowed residents to elect a Delegate to the House of Representatives.
The Delegate could serve on committees and vote there, but not on the floor of the House where all bills must be passed.
Three years later the Home Rule Charter permitted residents to elect a Mayor, and a city Council with one Councilmember
from each of the eight wards, a Chairman and four remaining members elected at-large.
1990-present
In 1993, the House of Representatives permitted delegates from the District of Columbia to vote on the floor of the House.
However, in cases where the vote was a tie, a second vote was required in which DC's delegates were not allowed to vote. Just
two years later, this was nullified when the District of Columbia's delegates were terminated from the official House roster
and 500,000 residents were left with no voting representative on Capital Hill.
U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative are locally elected officials created through an Initiative Measure. The first elections
for these offices were held in 1990.
These officials have no voting rights on Capital Hill.
In October 2000, the Supreme Court ruled the solution will have to come from the legislative process, and currently several
solutions abound but none have become law or moved beyond committee.
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