1. The Legislative Branch
“Those who respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made!” – Mark Twain

2. Bicameral Congress -Familiar due to British Parliament
-Part of Constitutional Convention’s “Great Compromise”
-Way to further divide power
-Notion that House is directly responsive to the People, while Senate can serve to check popular passions

3. House of Representatives
435 members (since 1920s)
All face election every two years (length of a “term of Congress,”)
Therefore seen as more immediately responsive to “folks back home”
Every state guaranteed at least one Representative
Currently 83 women & 352 men
Colorado has 7 Representatives; 1 woman & 6 men

5. Congressional Districts
435 districts each elect one Representative
7 smallest states only have one representative
Each state’s legislature is required to draw districts that are “contiguous,” “relatively equal number of inhabitants,” “compact territory”
Not well-enforced; considerable room for interpretation; Colorado’s map?

6. Gerrymandering
-The practice of drawing Congressional districts to the advantage of the party that controls a state’s legislature
-Minority party’s (likely) voters either spread thin among multiple districts or all packed into one district
-Vice “Divide & Conquer” HBO Go or, if not available:
g-american-democracy

7. Qualifications for House Members
At least 25 years old
Been a US citizen for at least 7 years
Must be an inhabitant of state from which elected
Customary to reside in district, too

8. The Senate 100 members (all states have two members)
All face election every six years (this staggering results in “continuous body”)
Therefore seen as more capable of resistance to “the passions of the moment”
Members originally chosen by state legislatures
Changes with 1913’s 17th Amendment
Currently 21 women & 79 men
Colorado is represented by Michael Bennet (D) & Cory Gardner (R)

9. Bennet (e. 2010) & Gardner (e. 2014)

10. Qualifications for Senate Members
At least 30 years old
Been a US citizen for at least 9 years
Must be an inhabitant of state from which elected