FAQs: Could 2020 election change prospects for DC statehood?

By Mitchell Miller
October 28, 2020 | 4:12 AM

D.C. started early voting this week, allowing residents to submit ballots in the presidential race ahead of Nov. 3.

It wasn’t until the 1964 election that D.C. residents could even vote for president, owing to its unique history and the fact that the District of Columbia is not a state.

While it has a long way to go, this election could have an impact on efforts to make D.C. the 51st state.

Maryland court rules Democratic-backed redistricting amendment cannot go on November ballot

By The Associated Press
August 26, 2026 | 8:36 PM

A Maryland court has ruled against a proposed constitutional amendment that could have paved the way for Democrats to redraw the state's congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections. The ruling Wednesday by a judge in the state's capital city marks another setback in Democrats' national attempts to counter a Republican redistricting movement pushed by President Donald Trump ahead of this year's elections. The judge ruled that the amendment cannot appear on the November ballot, but he paused the effect of that ruling to allow for an appeal to the state Supreme Court. Democrats already control seven of Maryland's eight congressional seats. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore called lawmakers into a special session in August with a goal of making it easier to claim that final seat. An amendment referred to the ballot by lawmakers seeks to sidestep a court ruling that struck down a previous Democratic redistricting plan in 2022. It would declare that a constitutional requirement for districts to be compact and take into account “natural boundaries” applies only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones.

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