THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIZE AND TERMS  The exact size of the House today is 435  Not fixed by the Constitution, but decided by Congress  The Constitution only says the number of representatives has to be related to the populations of the states

SIZE AND TERMS  Each state is guaranteed at least 1 representative in the House  Including territories Guam, Virgin Islands, D.C., and American Samoa Non-voting members  Chosen every second year Article I, Section 2

SIZE AND TERMS  There is no limit to the number of terms a person can serve in the House  Attempts in 1990s to create limits, but failed  Congressmen did not want to vote themselves away from their jobs

REAPPORTIONMENT  Article I directs Congress to redistribute the seats after each census (10 years)  To keep the representation of each state appropriate to the number of people in each state  Reapportionment Act of 1929

CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS  Who:  Any registered voter  Date:  The Tuesday following the first Monday in November every even- numbered year

DISTRICTS  States, based on their population, draws boundaries for each Congressional district  Each district has around the same number of constituents Averaged 500,000 per district

GERRYMANDERING  When Congress/States would create new district lines, they would often draw them to their advantage  Spread opposition too thinly  Concentrate opposition to a few small districts

QUALIFICATIONS FOR HOUSE  At least 25 years old  Citizen for at least 7 years  Must be an inhabitant of the state running in