Comments on: Washington DC to gain voting rights?

By: kme

kme — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:12:57 +0000

Canberra has two Senators as compared to Tasmania’s twelve (the populations are about 340,000 versus 500,000).

The ACT Assembly can be overruled not just by the Federal Parliament but by the Federal Executive.

Puerto Rico is more hard done by than DC though – they have a member of Congress who isn’t allowed a decisive vote, and no representation in the Electoral College at all.

The US electoral system does seem to be showing its age.

By: Ben Raue

Ben Raue — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:45:51 +0000

Not really. Canberra elects two Senators and two Members of the House of Representatives who are treated the same as those elected by the States. While the ACT Assembly can be overruled by the Federal Parliament, there is much less interference than in the US, and they still do get to have a say in electing the national Parliament.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:39:28 +0000

Canberra, the Australian capital has a somewhat similar position.

By: Ben Raue

Ben Raue — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:33:03 +0000

It’s true that red states are gaining ground at the expense of blue states, but some of those same trends giving more seats to red states are the same that are turning those seats purple. Look at Arizona and Texas, which gain six seats between them (pretty much the whole margin). Both those states have fast-growing latino populations, and many of those seats will likely be taken on by latino Democrats. The growing Latino population in those seats is also making them more winnable for Democrats in the Presidential race. If McCain wasn’t the candidate, Arizona would have likely turned blue in 2008, and Texas is trending that way.

By: David Walsh

David Walsh — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:52:27 +0000

Good to hear! Congressional representation for D.C. is long overdue. The territory ought to have two Senators as well (it has a larger population than Wyoming).

The reapportionment scenario in that last link is interesting. If you divide the electoral pendulum into two equal halves, i.e. Obama’s best 22 states (plus DC) worth 269 EV on one side and the rest (also worth 269 EV) on the other, then according to that analysis six EVs will flip from the former to the latter. A boost for the Republicans.