re: #19 KGxvi

The statehood question is really interesting.

DC would be complicated because you’d likely have to repeal the 23rd Amendment in the process, unless we’re doing away with the electoral college in the process.

Puerto Rico makes sense, assuming Puerto Ricans want statehood (the last few referendums have been inconclusive, I think). I’d say if Puerto Rico is made a state, it should incorporate the Virgin Islands since they are fairly close, geographically. But there’s probably some culture/legal issues/differences that might have to be sorted out in that process. Puerto Rico has a population of 3.1m and the Virgin Islands is at about 104k.

As for the remaining territories, they are very small, Guam is the largest at 166k, which is 410k fewer than Wyoming. And geographically, they’re all so dispersed I’m not sure it’d make sense to make them one state.

Congress has the power to simply abolish the District, making the 23rd Amendment a nullity, so the Constitution doesn’t have to be amended. Alaska has many far flung, isolated communities yet is one state, so I don’t think that is a problem in making the Pacific Islands a state either. Combined they have about 277k people, which is smaller than Wy, but Wy itself is vastly smaller than California.