3.9 million Americans in DC and Puerto Rico pay taxes, serve in the military, and are subject to federal law — but cannot vote for the people who write it.
We're a policy platform with 50 researched positions on every major issue. This page breaks down our statehood plan — but there's much more to explore.
The United States was founded on a principle it has never fully honored: no taxation without representation. Today, 3.9 million Americans in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico pay federal taxes, serve in the military, and live under federal law — but have no voting representation in the Congress that governs them.
Washington, DC was established as a federal district in 1790, when fewer than 5,000 people lived there. The Founders never anticipated that it would grow into a city of 689,000 — larger than Wyoming or Vermont. DC residents pay the highest federal taxes per capita of any jurisdiction in the country. They serve in the military at rates comparable to most states. They are subject to every federal law Congress passes. Yet they have no senators, their single House delegate cannot vote on legislation, and until the 23rd Amendment in 1961, they could not even vote for president. The license plates in DC read "Taxation Without Representation" — because that is literally what it is.
Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States from Spain in 1898 and has been a territory for over 125 years. Its 3.2 million residents are US citizens by birth. They serve in the military at rates higher than most states — Puerto Rican soldiers have fought and died in every American conflict since World War I. Yet they cannot vote for president, have no senators, and their single resident commissioner in the House cannot vote on legislation. Puerto Rico receives less federal funding per capita than any state for programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and SSI — despite having poverty rates higher than any state in the nation.
The combined population of DC and Puerto Rico — 3.9 million people — is larger than the populations of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, and South Dakota combined. Every one of those states has two senators and at least one voting House member. DC and Puerto Rico have zero. This is not an oversight. It is a deliberate denial of democratic representation to millions of Americans, the majority of whom are Black and Latino.
For the full history and policy context, see the voting rights issue page and the racial justice policy.
Yes — repeatedly, clearly, and democratically. Both DC and Puerto Rico have held referendums in which their residents voted for statehood. In both cases, Congress has refused to act.
Washington, DC held a statehood referendum in November 2016. The result: 86% voted yes. Voter turnout exceeded 70%. The DC Council had previously approved a proposed state constitution, and the referendum asked residents whether DC should be admitted as the 51st state. The margin was overwhelming. DC's non-voting delegate to the House, Eleanor Holmes Norton, introduced the Washington, D.C. Admission Act in every subsequent Congress. In 2021, the bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 216-208. It died in the Senate, where the filibuster prevented it from reaching the floor for a vote.
Puerto Rico has held six status referendums: in 1967, 1993, 1998, 2012, 2017, and 2020. The 2020 referendum asked a simple yes-or-no question: "Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the Union as a State?" The result: 52.5% voted yes. While the margin was narrower than DC's, it represented the clearest expression of statehood preference in Puerto Rico's history — a simple majority on a straightforward ballot question. The Puerto Rico Status Act passed the House in December 2022 but was not taken up by the Senate before the congressional term ended.
The pattern is consistent: the people of DC and Puerto Rico have voted for statehood. Bills have passed the House. And the Senate has refused to act — not because of constitutional barriers, but because of political calculation. For more on how the filibuster blocks democratic legislation, see the government reform policy.
The Common Good plan treats statehood as a fundamental issue of democratic representation. If you are an American citizen, you deserve a vote. Period. The plan admits DC as the 51st state and Puerto Rico as the 52nd state, with full rights and representation.
The plan is built on six core provisions, each addressing a specific failure of the current territorial system:
For the complete statehood framework with legislative detail, see the full voting rights issue page.
Statehood would transform the daily lives of 3.9 million Americans who currently live under a system that denies them basic democratic rights. Here is what changes — and what stays the same.
| Category | Current Status | With Statehood |
|---|---|---|
| Voting Rights | No voting representation in Congress; PR cannot vote for president | Full voting rights — president, Senate, House |
| Congressional Representation | Non-voting delegates only | 2 senators + proportional House members each |
| Federal Funding | Capped and reduced (especially PR) | Equal per-capita access to all federal programs |
| Program Access | Medicaid, SSI, SNAP capped for PR | Full access to Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, and all programs |
| Self-Governance | Congress can override local laws | State sovereignty under the 10th Amendment |
| Judicial Appointments | No senators to confirm federal judges | 2 senators participate in judicial confirmations |
The practical impact extends beyond voting. Puerto Rico's capped Medicaid funding means the territory receives roughly $1,600 per enrollee compared to the national average of $5,500. Statehood would close that gap, providing healthcare funding that matches the island's actual need. DC residents would gain full control over their local budget — currently, Congress has the power to review and reject DC's locally funded spending, a level of federal intrusion no state experiences.
For a broader look at democratic reform, see the voting rights policy and the government accountability page.
Let's be direct: yes, both DC and Puerto Rico would likely elect Democrats. And yes, statehood is still the right thing to do. These two facts are not in conflict.
The opposition to DC and Puerto Rico statehood is almost entirely partisan. Republican leaders have said openly that they oppose statehood because it would add Democratic-leaning seats to the Senate. This is an honest admission — and a damning one. It means that 3.9 million Americans are being denied representation not because of any constitutional principle, but because of how they are expected to vote. That is the opposite of democracy.
Consider the principle at stake. Wyoming has a population of 580,000 and two senators. Vermont has 647,000 and two senators. DC has 689,000 and zero senators. Puerto Rico has 3.2 million and zero senators. If the standard for representation is citizenship and population, both DC and Puerto Rico exceed the threshold that existing states meet. The only reason they don't have representation is that the party in power has decided their residents would vote the wrong way.
The Common Good Party approaches this as a matter of principle, not partisan advantage. If DC and Puerto Rico were expected to elect Republicans, the position would be the same: American citizens deserve representation in the government that taxes them, drafts them, and makes laws that govern their lives. The voting rights policy makes this case in full.
It is also worth noting that partisan lean is not permanent. States shift over time. West Virginia was reliably Democratic for decades. California was Republican. The argument that we should deny representation because of predicted partisan outcomes is not just antidemocratic — it is historically ignorant. For context on how partisan gerrymandering distorts representation, see the gerrymandering reform section of the voting rights page.
Statehood opponents rely on a handful of arguments that sound reasonable but collapse under scrutiny. Here are the four most common myths — and what the evidence actually shows.
Myth: "Statehood is just a power grab by Democrats."
Reality: Denying representation to 3.9 million Americans because of how they might vote is the actual power grab. Every new state in American history was admitted through a political process that involved partisan calculation — including Republican-leaning states like the Dakotas, which were split into two states in 1889 specifically to add Republican Senate seats. The question is not whether politics plays a role — it always has. The question is whether 3.9 million Americans deserve the same rights as every other citizen. They do.
Myth: "Puerto Rico doesn't want statehood."
Reality: Puerto Rico voted 52.5% yes on statehood in 2020 — a clear majority on a straightforward question. Previous referendums were criticized for confusing ballot design, but the 2020 vote was binary: yes or no. The result was yes. It's true that support is not unanimous — but no state was admitted with 100% consensus. When Alaska and Hawaii were admitted, there was significant internal opposition. The standard is democratic majority, and Puerto Rico met it.
Myth: "DC is too small to be a state."
Reality: DC's population of 689,000 is larger than Wyoming (577,000) and Vermont (647,000). It has a GDP larger than 16 states. It pays more in federal taxes per capita than any state. DC has its own government, police force, fire department, school system, and court system. It meets every functional and demographic criterion that existing states meet — and exceeds many of them. The "too small" argument is never applied to Wyoming, because Wyoming already has statehood.
Myth: "The Constitution prevents DC statehood."
Reality: The Constitution requires a federal district — but it does not specify a size. The original district was 100 square miles; Virginia's portion was already returned in 1847, reducing it. Under statehood proposals, the federal district would be reduced to the Capitol complex, White House, Supreme Court, and National Mall — satisfying the constitutional requirement while granting statehood to the residential areas. The 23rd Amendment would need to be addressed (likely repealed), but this is a procedural step, not a constitutional barrier to admission. Congress admitted 37 states after the original 13 — all by a simple act of Congress under Article IV, Section 3.
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3.9 million Americans in DC and Puerto Rico are taxed, drafted, and governed by a Congress they cannot vote for. Read the full plan and see exactly how we fix it — with sources, legal analysis, and implementation details.