On November 8, 2016, the voters of the District of Columbia voted overwhelmingly in favor of statehood, with 86% of voters voting to advise approving the proposal.

How many votes are needed for statehood?

A simple majority in each House of Congress is required to pass statehood legislation, however, in the United States Senate the filibuster requires 60 votes to invoke cloture. Some statehood advocacy organizations have called for amending or abolishing the filibuster as a path to achieve statehood.

Why was Washington DC originally not a state?

So, to compromise, George Washington himself chose a location bordering the Potomac River. The northern Maryland and the southern Virginia would be the two states to cede land for this new capital, which was founded in 1790. So, in short, statehood for D.C. would directly contradict the Constitution.