Electoral Irony

On this Election Day, here’s a quick trivia question:

Who did Washington, D.C. residents vote for in 1960-Kennedy or Nixon?

The answer is…..NEITHER!

Hard to believe, but in our Nation’s Capital, the seat of democracy and the epicenter of all things political, residents of the city were not eligible to vote until the passage of the 23rd Amendment in 1961.

Talk about irony—in a town where the votes of Congress affect us all, the residents there were not granted the basic right to determine their future!

The history of this intentional slight is murky, but comes down to the competition between states for the honor of having the nation’s capitol within their boundaries. As a solution, the tract of land between Maryland and Virginia that is now the city of Washington –The District of Columbia-was placed under the control of Congress, which suspended resident’s right to vote in 1801.

Therefore, D.C. residents have not voted for ANYONE from 1801 until 1964.

So, the very first presidential election that Washington residents voted in was the 1964 contest between Democratic President Lyndon Johnson and Republican challenger Barry Goldwater.

Here is an extended LBJ campaign ad from ’64:






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XVmdkUrQUU

It’s safe to say that D.C. residents went the way of the country in re-electing LBJ.

Lest you believe that all electoral injustices for Washington have been resolved, it should be noted that the District still has no representative in Congress-as all efforts at D.C. statehood have failed.

So…perhaps you voted today. Perhaps you stayed away. Cherish the fact that you at least had the choice—the right—to cast your ballot.

If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com