House
• The House has 435 seats to it.
Congress passed the
Reapportionment Act of 1929
that said the 435 seats was
the maximum number of seats
allowed.
• Members are elected every 2
years.
Senate
• The Senate has 100 members.
• 2 per state
• Each serve for 6 years.
• The Senate is a continuous
body, that is, all of its seats are
never up for election at the
same time.
Terms and qualifications for the
House
• There are formal qualifications
and informal qualifications.
• Formal qualifications:
• You must be at least 25 years
old.
• Must be a U.S. citizen for at
least 7 years.
• Must be an inhabitant of the
State from which he or she
is elected.
• Informal qualification on the
other hand vary from state
to state.
Terms and qualifications for the
Senate
• You have to be at least 30
years old.
• Has to live in the U.S. for at
least 9 years.
• Has to be an inhabitant of that
state.
Election process for the House
• Election occurs every
Tuesday following the first
Monday in November of
each even numbered year.
Except for Alaska which
they hold elections in
October due to weather.
•The representatives
for the House are
chosen by voters in
that district.
Election process for the Senate
• Election day is the same day
for each State. The Tuesday
following the first Monday in
November.
• Only one Senator is elected
from a state in any given time
except when the other seat
has been vacated by death,
resignation, or expulsion.
Equal vs. Proportional
Representation
• The equal vs. proportional
representation was part of the
Great Compromise.
• The House has 435 members
and is not fixed by the
Constitution.
• The Constitution says that the
total number of seats in the
House of Representatives will be
apportioned (distributed) among
States on the basis of their
population.
• The House has proportional
representation.
• Each State is guaranteed at
least one seat in the House,
no matter what the population.
Today, seven states have only
one seat which is Alaska,
Delaware, Montana, North and
South Dakota, Vermont and
Wyoming.
• The Constitution tells
Congress to redistribute seats
after each decennial census.