So nice - appreciate it, Kevin! (I look forward to reading your Senate work at some point).

Representation on the Periphery: The Past and Future of Nonvoting Members of Congress E L L I O T M A M E T A B S T R A C T Nonvoting representatives, representing American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mari- ana Islands, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC, inhabit a periph- eral space within the US Congress. House rules bar them from voting on the floor, their authority derives not from the Constitution but from statute, and the office they hold can be revoked at the whims of Congress. Drawing on original archival research, this article sketches out three justifications given for this institution: that nonvoting members would increase information flows to the legislature, that they would incorporate periph- eral territory prior to statehood, and that they would empower members to use tools be- sides voting to exercise political power. It then evaluates the normative status of nonvot- ing representation in democratic theory, arguing that representation without voting is incongruent with notions of consent and equal power required for democratic self-rule.

@emamet.bsky.social also wrote this barnburner about how House delegates don't make up for the lack of formal representation for US territories and DC: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10....

Democratic Equality for Washington, D.C.! Elliot Mamet The political status of Washington, D.C., is a longstanding question in American political thought. Intervening in that debate, I argue that Washington, D.C. deserves democratic equality. Democratic equality entails that, at a minimum, D.C. residents should have the power to vote for representatives in national and local legislatures (like residents of the several states), that their vote should have equal weight to others, and that D.C.’s elected legislative representatives should have power to vote on what the law is. This ideal of democratic equality for D.C. is only possible via D.C. statehood. Drawing on original archival research, the article provides a historical overview of D.C.’s democratic disenfranchisement, outlines three principal forms of democratic inequality faced by D.C. residents, and imagines what democratic equality for D.C. might look like. It concludes by sketching a broader research agenda about the democratic injustices accorded to those Americans living outside the several states

The article proceeds as follows. First, I survey D.C.’s long history of democratic disenfranchisement. Second, I outline three principal forms of democratic disenfranchise- ment faced by D.C. residents: in its limited local self- government, votelessness in the House, and voicelessness in the Senate. Third, I present an argument that D.C. deserves democratic equality and respond to the most persuasive objections. Fourth, I imagine what democratic equality for D.C. would look like in practical terms. And last, I propose a broader research agenda about the democratic injustices accorded to Americans living outside the several states. In addition to Washington, D.C., the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are all located on the U.S. democratic periphery, and the residents of those terri- tories also confront acute democratic inequalities. Political science ought to better confront the state-centered bound- aries of U.S. politics, boundaries which create an enduring inequality between states and non-states in American democratic life.

Allow me to alert you to the existence of this paper on why democratic equality requires DC statehood and the scholar, @emamet.bsky.social, doing the hard work of outlining perhaps the most significant gaps in basic democratic representation under the American flag: doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Political scientist talks DC’s nonvoting delegate, home rule ‘under attack’ Elliot Mamet, a research associate and lecturer at Princeton University, said home rule has never been “under attack” as much as it is today by President Donald Trump’s administration and discussed th...

Thanks very much to the GW Hatchet for this write-up of my talk at the GW Museum and Textile Museum @gwu1821.bsky.social

gwhatchet.com/2025/08/28/p...

The weakening of the Voting Rights Act is a fundamental threat to multiracial democracy | USAPP Federal enforcement has historically been the only reliable guarantee of Black political representation - and therefore multiracial democracy - in the South.

The weakening of the Voting Rights Act is a fundamental threat to multiracial democracy write @michaelgreenberger.bsky.social of @uofdenver.bsky.social and Jasmine Carrera Smith of George Washington University blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

How to Write a BA Thesis, Second Edition How to Write a BA Thesis is the only book that directly addresses the needs of undergraduate students writing a major paper. This book offers step-by-step advice on how to move from early ideas to fin...

This by Charles Lipson is a good starting place: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Washington, D.C deserves democratic equality – and that means statehood | USAPP D.C. residents should be afforded the democratic rights enjoyed by most other Americans.

Washington, D.C deserves democratic equality – and that means statehood writes @emamet.bsky.social of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

Logo featuring the acronym "JREP" in white letters on a large red circle, with a grey background adorned with numerous smaller red circles. The hashtag "#OpenAccess" is displayed in white at the bottom.

#OpenAccess from the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics -

Federal Enforcement and Black Political Representation: Evidence from Reconstruction and the Voting Rights Act - cup.org/4drlmAz

- @michaelgreenberger.bsky.social & Jasmine Carrera Smith

#FirstView #JREP10

CFP Fellows taking an informative tour of Richmond State House

From one Capitol to another! 💡 Our Congressional Fellows explored the Richmond State House, gaining insights from Delegate Pugh Kent, Senator VanValkenburg, Cal Whitehead, Dr. Lauren Bell (CFP '97-'98), & Elizabeth Beyer (CFP '22-'23). Grateful for the opportunity to learn from the best! #APSACFP

Presidential Strategies in Statements of Administration Policy Presidents routinely employ Statements of Administration Policy (SAPs) to inform Congress about the executive's thoughts and position on pending legislation. Such statements are used for a variety of...

Not exactly an answer, but see Ostrander and Sievert (2022) here on the rhetorical use of SAPs: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @jsievert.bsky.social

Thanks so much!

NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!!

#Democratic #Equality for #Washington, D.C.!

By @emamet.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1017/S153...

Amid ongoing debates about Washington, D.C.'s autonomy, I have a new article out arguing that democratic equality for D.C. is only possible via statehood. @poppublicsphere.bsky.social

We Choose You Cambridge Core - American Studies - We Choose You

Just ordered @profjw.bsky.social’s new book, We Choose You. Looks like tmrw is drop day.

It explores what shapes Black voters’ candidate choices beyond race, highlighting how signals of group commitment matter most. Can’t wait to dive in. Congrats, Prof. Wamble!

www.cambridge.org/core/books/w...

Promoting Bipartisanship in an Era of Polarization: The House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, by @mbcoven.bsky.social & @emamet.bsky.social successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/publications...

would love to be added, thanks!

Thanks for reading, Daniel — and agree with both. Some of these ideas were percolating for a long time before the 116th Congress. Appreciate your engaging with it.

Congress bluesky: excited to have published this case study on the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress with Martha Coven. The Committee made real changes to improve Congress—and modeled a way of working together across differences.

Available here:

Glad you don’t have to be a ‘dissident minority’ (per a great paper I remember…)

Would love to be added… thanks!

Would love to be added, thanks!

I’d love to be added; thanks!

Thrilled to share this article, with Austin Bussing, on race, democracy, and the creation of four new seats in Congress in the 1970s. The story conveys an enduring political inequality for residents of Washington D.C. and the U.S. territories. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

"Delegates to the House of Representatives: Who Are They and What Do They Do?" Happy to share this episode of the Understanding Congress podcast. Listen here: www.aei.org/podcast/dele...

Thrilled to have this piece with Cameron Dehart now in print in State Politics & Policy Quarterly. We study the nonvoting tribal delegates in Maine’s state legislature, and ask about what it means for them to have a voice, but not a vote.

Available open access here: cambridge.org/core/journal...

me too please, thanks!

Would you be able to add me as well? thank you!