Since the enactment of the 23rd amendment to the Constitution in 1961,[1] the District of Columbia has participated in 16 presidential elections.

[3] The Democratic Party has immense political strength in the district.

In each of the 16 presidential elections, the district has overwhelmingly voted for the Democratic candidate, with no margin less than 56.5 percentage points.

In the 2000 presidential election, Barbara Lett-Simmons, an elector from the district, left her ballot blank to protest its lack of voting representation in Congress.

As a result, Al Gore received only two of the three electoral votes from Washington, D.C.[4] In 2016, 85.7% of the registered voters approved a statehood referendum.