U.S. House of Representatives

1. U.S. House of Representatives

2. Welcome to the U.S. House of Representatives

3. Basic Facts of the U.S. House • Constitutional Qualifications for Members • 25 years old • US Citizen for 7 years • Resident of the State and District • No term limits • Entire House is re-elected every 2 years • Number of Representatives is based on the population of the state • Each state is guaranteed at least 1 Representative • Members may be punished by a majority vote • Members may be expelled by a 2/3 vote

4. House Reapportionment

5. Congressional Reapportionment United States congressional apportionment is the process by which seats in the United States House of Representatives are redistributed amongst the 50 states following each constitutionally mandateddecennialcensus. (every 10 years) Each state is apportioned a number of seats which approximately corresponds to its share of the total population of the 50 states Every state is constitutionally guaranteed at least one seat. Every decade, the House grew in size due to the growth of the US population (capped today at 435 members)

6. National Population 1970 Census: 203,211,926 1980 Census: 226,545,805 1990 Census: 248,709,873 2000 Census: 281,421,906

8. 435 325 213 141 65 Following the census of 1910, the House grew to 435 members. The House had grown too large to function, so following the 1920 census, Congress did not add any new seats, even though the population grew.

9. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 • Facing the same dilemma from 1920, Congress passed the Reapportionment Act prior to the 1930 census • Set the permanent size of the House at 435 • Following the census, the 435 seats will be reapportioned among the states on a “give and take” basis • States that have an increase in population may gain House seats, and those states that have a decrease in population may loose house seats

10. Based on the 2000 Census 435 Total

11. Based on the 2010 Census 435 Total

12. House Reapportionment (2010) Gained Representatives (8) Lost Representatives (10) 12 Seats Reapportioned Texas + 4 (36) Florida + 2 (27) Georgia + 1 (14) South Carolina + 1 (7) Arizona + 1 (9) Nevada +1 (4) Utah +1 (4) Washington +1 (10) New York – 2 (27) Ohio – 2 (16) Louisiana – 1 (6) Missouri – 1 (8) Michigan – 1 (14) Illinois – 1 (18) Iowa – 1 (4) Pennsylvania – 1 (18) New Jersey – 1 (12) Massachusetts – 1 (9)

13. Congressional Districts • Each state is divided up into Congressional Districts, based on how many US Representatives that state has • Voters in each Congressional District elect their Representative to the US House • You live in the Congressional District # 10

14. Redistricting • Congressional District must be equal in population so that every Representative “represents” the same number of people in the House (one person one vote) • Redistricting: Re-drawing the Congressional districts every 10 years after the census to account for changes in the population (to make each district about equal in population) • The state legislature (State Congress) of each state is responsible for re-districting • Gerrymandering: re-drawing the congressional districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature (Packing/Cracking)

15. The Gerrymander Was used for the first time in the Boston Gazette newspaper on March 26, 1812. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of Massachusetts state senate election districts under the then governor Elbridge Gerry. In 1812, Governor Gerry signed a bill that redistricted Massachusetts to benefit his Democratic-Republican Party. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a salamander

21. http://www.uselections.com/ga/ga.htm

22. U.S. House Re-election Rate Over 90% of Representatives always get re-elected