DC VRA Resources
Congressional Representation for Washington, DC: The DC
VRA will bring democracy to the nation's capitol by giving the
District of Columbia a voting member in the House of Representatives. [ Read the DC VRA ]
[ Read FairVote's letter calling on Congress to support the DC FAIR Act (previous version of the DC VRA) ]
[ Send a letter asking your Representative to support the DC VRA - Word .doc 24k ]
A Fourth Congressional Seat for Utah: This seat would be elected using a statewide "at-large" district. This method eliminates the need for mid-decade redistricting and prevents the possibility of partisan gerrymandering in the drawing of a new district.
[ History of methods for creating Congressional districts ]
[Congressional Research Service (CRS) weighs in on constitutionality of an at-large Congressional district-.pdf 65KB]
The Electoral College and the DC VRA: States are given a number of votes in the Electoral College equal to their number of representatives plus senators. The 23rd Amendment, ratified in 1961, awards three votes to the District of Columbia (equal to the number held by the smallest state). The Electoral College currently has 538 electors, making it possible for two candidates to tie at 269 votes each. The increase of two House seats would add one vote to the Electoral College (DC would retain three votes). This will increase the number of electors in the Electoral College to 539, eliminating the possibility that our president could be elected by the House of Representatives after an Electoral College tie.