DC and the Constitution

News this morning that President Obama's Justice Department reached the conclusion that the DC Voting Rights Act--which would grant the District a vote in the House--was unconstitutional, but that conclusion (by the Office of Legal Counsel) was overruled by the Attorney General (who supports the measure) after consulting with the Solicitor General's Office.


The Office of Legal Counsel can't catch a break--under GWB, they were criticized for reaching conclusions that some felt were highly political, including support of harsh interrogation tactics for the war on terror. Here, they are clearly swimming upstream against the tide of support in the Administration for an additional reliable Democrat seat in the House.

That Attorney General Holder did a little "venue shopping" and sought the advice of an office favorable to the measure is being decried as "politicizing" the situation. What? There's politics going on at the Justice Department? I'm shocked. Shocked!

This one will be a good Supreme Court case. It is clear that the framers sought to vest the Congress with sovereignty within the District, and much of the evolving relationship between the District, its people and the federal government has arisen out of a proper understanding of that sovereignty. Put another way, since Congress runs the District, Congress can choose NOT to run the district by giving it Home rule, etc.

But where the Constitution SPECIFIES the bounds of that relationship, it may not be altered by legislative action. We've already seen this concept in action--and it is known as the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution:

"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 using appropriate legislation."


The Congress could no more have given the residents of DC representation in the Electoral College than they can grant them representation in their own body. It is simply unconstitutional, and if people wish to grant them such representation, there are methods for amending the Constitution.