The Senate is beginning debate on the DC Voting Rights Act, which will also create an extra seat for Utah. In creating two more seats, the bill should create two more Electoral College votes, but that is not going to happen.
However, the 23th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which granted the District voting rights in presidential elections, stipulates that the District only gets as many electoral votes as the state with the fewest. Even if this legislation is enacted (and upheld by the courts), Washington, D.C. will still only have three electoral votes.
As a result, the Electoral College will only increase by one vote, not two. That means that the Electoral College’s members would add up to 539, which, tragically, is an odd number.
It’s a tragedy because ties in the Electoral College will become almost impossible, which means we’ll probably never get to see the House of Representatives decide an election ever again. Of course, it could still happen if a third party candidate wins enough states to deny anyone a majority of the Electoral College. But I don’t see that happening in my lifetime unless they try to bring slavery back or something.
