There is a popular rallying cry from the American Revolution, the phrase “no taxation without representation” highlighting colonists’ disdain for being forced to pay taxes to the British government when they had no representation in parliament.
Almost 250 years later, the phrase retains its relevance. The nearly 700,000 residents of Washington D.C., find themselves stuck paying federal taxes and being subject to the authority of the federal government without any representation in Congress. “No taxation without representation” highlights a multitude of factors driving the movement to establish Washington as the United States’ 51st state, something that would correct the current infringements on the civic rights of Washington residents.
The Constitution established Washington as the seat of the federal government in 1790, ensuring that the government would remain in a neutral district not affiliated with any particular state. Washington slowly grew in population, becoming home to hundreds of thousands of residents who pay local and federal taxes yet still have no say in American politics.
In 1961, the ratification of the 23rd Amendment of the Constitution gave Washington three electoral votes in presidential elections. This value does not exceed the number of electoral votes held by the least populous state. However, Washington still has no voting representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate, giving its residents no say in the creation of federal laws they remain subject to.
This comes even though Washington, with an estimated population of 679,000 residents in 2023, has a larger population than both Vermont and Wyoming, according to the U.S. Census. Washington D.C. also pays more in federal taxes per capita than any state in the country, according to the government, making the rally “no taxation without representation” especially poignant.
Without statehood, Washington also remains subject to congressional oversight and interference in local affairs. Although the city council and mayor draft and approve Washington’s laws, all local legislation, including Washington’s annual budget, must be presented directly to Congress for approval. This allows state representatives who do not represent Washington to meddle in Washington’s local affairs, often altering laws that they should have no say in.
In 2022, Washington’s city council approved a rewrite of the district’s criminal code. Upon presentation to Congress in 2023, the House of Representatives voted to overturn the legislation, therefore, showing representatives from outside Washington did not hesitate to overrule the work of the district’s government. Similar congressional interference has impacted local legislation regarding topics ranging from reproductive healthcare to the legalization of marijuana in Washington.
Protesting the decision, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives, released a statement in the U.S Congressional Records that said, “It is true Congress has absolute power over D.C., but might does not make right.”
The movement to grant statehood to Washington has become increasingly partisan. As Washington residents are typically progressive and Democratic when it comes to voting, those in support of statehood tend to be Democrats as well. On the other hand, Republicans who support Washington statehood are few and far between, balking at the idea of giving more votes to Democrats in the chambers of Congress.
Those opposed to statehood also say that establishing Washington as a state demands an amendment to the Constitution. This would require three-fourths of state legislatures in the U.S. to ratify the amendment, an improbable feat for a controversial issue in today’s polarized climate. Advocates of statehood argue it should simply take the signing of statehood legislation, the same process every state after the original colonies went through to join the country. Statehood legislation only requires a simple majority in both houses of Congress and the president’s signature, a much more feasible path to Washington becoming the 51st state.
Earning statehood is an uphill battle for Washington residents, but one that’s worth fighting for. Washington does more than its fair share in funding the federal government, yet has no local autonomy and is subject to federal laws they have no say in. Washington residents’ civic rights have been infringed upon since its establishment, and the only route to mending this is statehood.
