Constitution Cards

All cards โ€บ Amendment XXIII

Amendment XXIII: Electoral votes for Washington, D.C.

Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 1961.

In plain English

Gives the District of Columbia electors in presidential elections, no more than the least-populous state.

Original text

Section 1

The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

Section 2

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Plain-English summaries are simplified for learning. Courts interpret these words in detail; this is general information, not legal advice.

Source: National Archives