Which Amendment granted residents of Washington DC the right to vote in presidential elections?

• A. 19th Amendment
• B. 24th Amendment
• C. 15th Amendment
• D. 23rd Amendment

Answer: (D)

The essential idea here is how the Electoral College determines who can vote for president and how Washington, DC fits into that system. The 23rd Amendment, ratified in 1961, gives DC residents the right to vote in presidential elections by letting the District have a number of electors equal to what it would have if it were a state, but not more than the least populous state. In practice, this means DC has 3 electoral votes, so residents can participate in choosing the president even though DC has no voting representation in Congress.

The other amendments mentioned address different aspects of voting rights—19th opened the ballot to women, 24th prohibited poll taxes in federal elections, and 15th prohibited denying the vote based on race. None of those change DC’s role in presidential elections, so the 23rd Amendment is the specific mechanism that granted DC residents this right.