Photo by Ronnie R.

This is a great look into the history of D.C. voting rights courtesy of Twitter user kcivey. An article, run in 1978 in the now-defunct Washington Star, outlines the easy time a proposed amendment to the Constitution to allow full representation for D.C. in Congress would have passing. In fact, the text of the amendment would have let D.C. be “treated as though it were a State” without it actually becoming a state. I can’t even imagine an amendment to the Constitution ever passing now, let alone one as divisive as D.C. voting rights. But the Washington Star thought differently in 1978.

I couldn’t help but laugh while reading the 30-year-old article. Oh, they were so naive back then. But, those quoted in the article do make good points. Carl Tubbesing is quoted as saying that the bill should be noncontroversial, as it would affect states very little. True, Tubbesing. If it were only that simple.

This gem of a quote, from John Callahan of the National Conference of State Legislatures, sounds familiar. Callahan says:

“Quite frankly, the D.C. amendment could pass rather quickly if unless it gets embroiled in partisanship or in regional considerations we don’t yet know about. If it gets the backings of both national parties, it may have smooth sailing.”

What happened to the proposed amendment? After the Senate and the House passed the amendment, it was only ratified by 16 states, far short of the the 38 required. The amendment expired after 7 years in 1985.