1. The House of Representatives
Chapter 10 Section 2

2. What are the terms and size of the House of Representatives?
The House of Representatives has 435 elected officials
Each is elected for a two-year term
House is based on population
States with more people living in them get more representation
Each state is divided into districts
Leader of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House
Speaker is elected by the majority party in the House

3. Terms and size (cont’d)
Speaker runs the House’s business
Speaker of the House becomes President of the U.S. if the President and VP cannot serve
Speaker leads sessions, decides who may speak, calls for votes, and sees that rules are followed
Speaker also places member of the House into committees
Speaker can influence laws the House passes

4. The Speaker of the House has a very limited role.
True
False

5. The speaker of the house has a very limited role.
True
False

6. What is reapportionment?
Every 10 years, according to the Constitution, a census is taken
Census – a count of the population
As the population of the country grew, more seats were added to the House of Representatives
This continued until 1920 = 435
After each census, the Census Bureau decides how to distribute the number of seats for each states
Congress must approve this

7. The number of seats in the House of representatives is limited to 435 regardless of states’ populations.
True
False

8. Reapportionment (cont’d)
Constitution says that congressional elections are held on the same day in every state
Half of congressional elections are held in the years when there is no presidential election – off-year elections

9. What are congressional districts?
Each member of the House is elected from a district
Seven states have only one district that covers the whole state
These states are allowed to elect their representatives at-large
At-large means that people can choose their representatives from the whole state

10. What is it called when an election takes place in a year when there is no presidential election?
Off-year election
At-large election
Primary election

11. What is gerrymandering?
By law, each district should have similar populations and district boundaries should touch one another
In the past, many states drew boundaries that put more voters in some districts than others
Supreme Court ruled against practice
Court ruled that one’s man vote should be worth the same as another’s
Many states still draw boundaries to favor one party over another
Term for this unfair practice – gerrymandering

12. Gerrymandering is illegal.
True
False

13. What are the Formal qualifications for House members?
Representatives must be 25 years old
Must have been a citizen of U.S. for at least 7 years
Must be residents of the state they represent
The Constitution allows the House to judge the qualifications and election results of its own members
1861 – House dismissed 3 members for “rebellion” against the country
2003 – dismissed a member convicted of a crime

14. Informal Qualifications
These can vary over time
Name
Political experience
Educational background