Republicans may gain one extra EV in '08

[zorkpolitics]

A bill has been introduced to give DC a congressional representative.  To balance that Democratic seat, one more congressional seat would be added to the next state in line for a seat, Utah.  In 2008 that would create 539 EV, eliminate any possiblity of an Electoral College tie, and give the Republicans one more EV from Utah:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/politics/04vote.html?oref=login

So even without a nominee the Democrats have fallen farther behind...

[zorkpolitics]

It is completely unconstitutional. Congress can not just grant voting seats to federal property.

First its granting rights to the people not the property.
Second under Article 1 Section 4, the House may pass laws to regulate choosing its representatives and under Article 1, section 5 the House is the judge of the qualificaitons of its Memebers.

[zorkpolitics]

Which isn't the same as just adding members. Under your logic, the Democrats, if in power, could vote to give DC 90 representatives.

You are correct, logically the House could award 90 seats to DC.  Just as the Constitution allows a state to award all its electoral votes to me if they wanted to.  Its unlikley, its undemocratic, its political suicide, but its not unconstitutional

[zorkpolitics]

I'm sorry but this just doesn't make any sense at all.  Why will they need to 'balance' the new seat by adding one to another state?

Unlike the Senate, the House has no procedure to break tie votes, hence it has ussually had an odd number of members, if DC gets one then another must be added to avoid tie votes. 

[zorkpolitics]

Another thing I'm still a little hazy on.  This has probably already been brought up, but I'm still not sure about it.  Basically, I thought the limit for the number of representatives was 435.  So if DC gets an actual voting representative, wouldn't that mean that one gets deducted from another state to make up for it?

No, the number of Representatives is set by law and can be changed at any time with a new law, such as this one.

[zorkpolitics]

Right now citizens who are registered to vote in DC have no representation. This violates the principle of 'no taxation without representation'.

they should be exempt from federal taxes until they have representation.  Although that principle is not specifically enumerated in the constitution (and I doubt it's even been construed that way ever by the courts).

Actually they do have representation:  They have a nonvoting Delegate to the House, and they elect three electors to the Electoral college