[dnautics]

No, the people don't get to vote on which solution gives them representation. Because if you could just "vote to be a state" why does that stop at DC? Why not the three houses next to mine and me vote to be a state? Congress has to approve it because becoming a state incurs an externality on the other states - dilution of voting power.

To give your idea credence, though: probably it would be fair to let arbitrary groups of people vote for statehood without congressional approval if, hypothetically, there were a flat user fee to be a state, say, $50 billion/yr. Can't pay it? Sorry you get demoted to territory, your senators are booted, and your representatives become delegates, unless you merge with another state.

[bryanrasmussen]

>Because if you could just "vote to be a state" why does that stop at DC? Why not the three houses next to mine and me vote to be a state?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_Union

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1:

    New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

So it seems unlikely that you would be able to become a state by voting on it yourself.

The Northwest ordinance sets the minimum population size of a state to be 6000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Ordinance therefore I doubt your household has the requisite number of people living in it, even if you combine with the households of two or three of your neighbors, to succeed.

>Congress has to approve it because becoming a state incurs an externality on the other states

I did not say that they should become a state automatically when they voted for it, but rather that they should not be forced to become a part of Maryland if that is against their wishes. The obviously still need to follow the process required to become a state.

>To give your idea credence,

My idea should be quite easy to understand, and it was not the one you outlined here.