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Trivia answer
When did the Electoral College grow to its current size of 538 members?
a. 1928
b. 1952
c. 1964
d. 1976
The Electoral College is the body responsible for electing a president to office. Members are selected to the Electoral College in every presidential election year, with each state receiving a number of electors equal to the size of its congressional delegation. The Electoral College has had 538 members since the 1964 election.
The makeup of the Electoral College was last altered by the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment was passed by Congress in June 1960 and ratified by the states in March 1961. It granted the District of Columbia a number of electors equal to the size of the congressional delegation the district would be entitled to if it were a state or to the size of the smallest state's congressional delegation, whichever is smaller. Since then, the district has had three electors in each election.
Earlier changes to the number of electors were driven by changes to the number of members of Congress. Each state has two seats in the U.S. Senate, meaning that the number of electors has grown as states join the union. The Constitution does not outline a specific number of seats in the U.S. House. The current number of voting members—435—was determined by the Permanent Apportionment Act in 1929.[1]
The Electoral College's size has decreased twice, both times in the 19th century. Following the 1840 Census, the House voted to adopt a new apportionment plan which reduced the number of House seats from 242 to 223. This meant that the Electoral College had 275 members for the 1844 election, down from 294 in 1840. During the Civil War, states under pro-Confederate governments were not apportioned electors. For the 1864 election, the Electoral College had 233 members, down from 303 in 1860.[2]
