#18: CIVICS 101: The Legislative Branch
Q&A #18: What is the size of the House of Representatives and how is it determined?
Our American Government
Our American Government is a small book published by the House of Representatives for citizens and those who seek a greater understanding of the American interpretation of democracy. It follows a question-and-answer format and covers a broad range of topics dealing with the three branches of our Government, the electoral process, and the role of political parties.
The Savvy Citizen is reproducing the 169 questions-and-answers through a series of posts called Civics 101. Each post will contain the Q&A as well as some additional commentary to add historical context, fun facts, or anything we believe will add to our collective understanding of these topics.
Think of it as your adult Civics class, but without the test!
Let’s keep at it.
SECTION: The Legislative Branch: The Congress
Members, Offices, and Staff
Q&A #18: What is the size of the House of Representatives and how is it determined?
The membership of the House of Representatives is fixed in law at 435 Members representing the 50 States. In addition to the 435 Representatives, there is one Delegate for each of the following: the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa (each selected for a two-year term); as well as a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico (elected for four-year term). The Delegates and Resident Commissioner can sponsor legislation and vote in committees, but not in the House Chamber.
The Constitution entitles each State to at least one Representative. Beyond this minimum, Representatives are apportioned among the States according to population. Population figures used for apportionment are determined on the basis of each 10-year census. (Following the 1990 census, the average district size was about 570,000 people). Since 1941, Congress has used the method of “equal proportions” to calculate actual apportionment, in order to minimize the differences in district populations among the States.
My Thoughts
According to a quick Internet search, the country’s population is more than 330 million people per the 2020 census. This makes the district size is approximately 765,000 people.
You can visit census.gov to learn more about the entire process as well as your own Congressional district!
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Back next time with Q&A #19: Who defines the congressional districts-the Federal Government or the States?
Meanwhile, don’t forget that we’re organizing the post links on a single page available here.
xo,
Kelley for the Savvy Citizen Team
November 7, 2024