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The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives. Unit 5: Notes #1 Ch. 10.2 5 /8/14. Size and Terms. There are currently 435 members of the House This number is set by Congress Seats in the House are apportioned among states based on their population Every state gets at least one seat

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The House of Representatives

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  1. The House of Representatives Unit 5: Notes #1 Ch. 10.2 5/8/14

  2. Size and Terms • There are currently 435 members of the House • This number is set by Congress • Seats in the House are apportioned among states based on their population • Every state gets at least one seat • Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont & Wyoming only have one seat • The District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands and America Samoa each elect a delegate • Puerto Rico chooses a resident commissioner • House Reps serve two year terms

  3. Reapportionment • Article I directs Congress to reapportion the seats in the House after each census (every 10 years) • The Reapportionment Act of 1929 • Created “permanent” size of the House to 435 • Each seat represents about 650,000 persons • The Census Bureau is to determine the number of seats each state should have • President send Bureau plan to Congress • If neither house rejects the plan it goes in effect in 60 days

  4. Congressional Elections • Since 1872, Congress has required that elections be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even numbered year • Alaska could have theirs in October, but choose to use the Nov date • Elections that occur between presidential elections are called off-year elections • Usually the party in power loses seats in off-year elections

  5. Districts • The 435 members of the House each represent a congressional district • States follow a single-member district arrangement • General Ticket elections were done away with in 1842 • The 1842 law made each state responsible for drawing congressional districts within their state • It required the districts be made up on contiguous territory (all one piece) • In 1872 Congress added that district have about the same number of inhabitants • In 1901 Congress directed that all district be of “compact territory” (small area)

  6. Gerrymandering • Districts that have been gerrymandered have been drawn to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s Legislature • Gerrymandering takes one of two forms: • Lines are drawn to concentrate the opposition’s voter’s in one or a few districts • Lines are drawn to spread opposition as thinly as possible among several districts • Gerrymandering got its name from Governor Eldridge Gerry of Massachusetts who in 1812 drew districts to favor the Dem-Rep

  7. Qualifications • Formal Qualifications • Must be at least 25 • Must have been a citizen for at least 7 years • Must live in the state they are elected from • Should live in the district as well (custom) • The Constitution makes the House “the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its Own Members” • Informal Qualifications • Party Identification, name familiarity, gender, ethnic characteristics and political experience

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