The House of Representatives

Size and Terms 435 members of the House of Representatives apportioned by Congress among the states according to state population First Congress had 65 seats Each state has at least one – AK, DE, MT, ND, SD, VT, WY Members serve a 2 year term unlimited

Reapportionment The Constitution says Congress must reapportion the seats after each census (10 yrs) By 1910, there were 435 members It was too large to be very effective Congress didn’t do anything about it until 1929

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 1) “permanent” size of House is 435 (each member represents an average of 650,000 people 2) after each census, the Census Bureau determines how many seats each state has 3) their plan must be sent to Congress 4) if neither house rejects it within 60 days, it becomes effective

Elections Since 1842, all Representatives are elected from “single-member” districts Each candidate runs for a certain district within their state State legislatures are responsible for drawing districts within their own state. Each district must be: Close in population size A relatively small area

These requirements have often been ignored by state legislators and not enforced by Congress Gerrymandering = drawing district lines to the advantage of the political party that controls the state legislature Two forms: 1) concentrate opposition’s voters in a few districts as possible, leaving the other districts safe for the dominant party (packing)

2) spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts limiting their ability to win in any district (cracking) Also, most state legislatures were dominated by rural areas instead of city areas so areas were carved up to give rural people more power

Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – Supreme Court said that the populations differences among Georgia’s district were so great it violated the Constitution This reinforced the idea that populations had to be close to equal in each district

Qualifications The Constitution says House members: 1) must be at least 25 2) have been a US citizen for 7 years 3) must live in the state they are elected from Custom says they must live in the district they represent

The House may refuse to “seat” a member-elect by majority vote (if they don’t meet qualifications) They may punish them for “disorderly behavior” They may expel them with a 2/3 vote

The “right” combination of these can help them get elected Informal qualifications (have to do with a candidate’s vote-getting abilities): Party identification Name familiarity Gender Ethnicity Political experience The “right” combination of these can help them get elected The “wrong” combination will help them be defeated