U.S. House of Representatives
Welcome to the U.S. House of
Representatives
Basic Facts of the U.S. House
• Constitutional Qualifications for Members
1. 25 years old
2. US Citizen for 7 years
3. Resident of the State and District
• No term limits
• Entire House is re-elected every 2 years
• Number of Representatives is based on the
population of the state
• Each state is guaranteed at least 1 Representative
• Members may be punished by a majority vote
• Members may be expelled by a 2/3 vote
House Reapportionment
Congressional Reapportionment
• United States congressional apportionment is the
process by which seats in the United States House of
Representatives are redistributed amongst the 50 states
following each constitutionally mandated decennial
census. (every 10 years)
• Each state is apportioned a number of seats which
approximately corresponds to its share of the total
population of the 50 states
• Every state is constitutionally guaranteed at least one seat.
• Every decade, the House grew in size due to the growth of
the US population (capped today at 435 members)
National Population
•
•
•
•
1970 Census: 203,211,926
1980 Census: 226,545,805
1990 Census: 248,709,873
2000 Census: 281,421,906
435
325
213
141
65
Following the census of 1910, the House grew to 435 members. The House had
grown too large to function, so following the 1920 census, Congress did not add
any new seats, even though the population grew.
The Reapportionment Act of 1929
• Facing the same dilemma from 1920, Congress passed the
Reapportionment Act prior to the 1930 census
1. Set the permanent size of the House at 435
2. Following the census, the 435 seats will be reapportioned
among the states on a “give and take” basis
3. States that have an increase in population may gain House
seats, and those states that have a decrease in population may
loose house seats
Based on the
2000 Census
435 Total
Based on the
2010 Census
435 Total
House Reapportionment (2010)
12 Seats Reapportioned
Gained Representatives (8)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Texas + 4 (36)
Florida + 2 (27)
Georgia + 1 (14)
South Carolina + 1 (7)
Arizona + 1 (9)
Nevada +1 (4)
Utah +1 (4)
Washington +1 (10)
Lost Representatives (10)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New York – 2 (27)
Ohio – 2 (16)
Louisiana – 1 (6)
Missouri – 1 (8)
Michigan – 1 (14)
Illinois – 1 (18)
Iowa – 1 (4)
Pennsylvania – 1 (18)
New Jersey – 1 (12)
Massachusetts – 1 (9)
Congressional Districts
• Each state is divided up into Congressional
Districts, based on how many US Representatives
that state has
• Voters in each Congressional District elect their
Representative to the US House
• You live in the Congressional District # 10
Redistricting
• Congressional District must be equal in population so
that every Representative “represents” the same
number of people in the House (one person one vote)
• Redistricting: Re-drawing the Congressional districts
every 10 years after the census to account for
changes in the population (to make each district
about equal in population)
• The state legislature (State Congress) of each state
is responsible for re-districting
• Gerrymandering: re-drawing the congressional
districts to the advantage of the political party that
controls the State’s legislature (Packing/Cracking)
The Gerrymander
Was used for the first
time in the Boston
Gazette newspaper on
March 26, 1812. The
word was created in
reaction to a redrawing
of Massachusetts state
senate election districts
under the then
governor Elbridge
Gerry. In 1812,
Governor Gerry signed
a bill that redistricted
Massachusetts to
benefit his DemocraticRepublican Party. When
mapped, one of the
contorted districts in
the Boston area was
said to resemble the
shape of a salamander
http://www.uselections.com/ga/ga.htm
U.S. House Re-election Rate
Over 90% of Representatives always get re-elected