The Constitution: How Many Constituents Are Enough?

The United States Constitution stipulates that each representative should have roughly 30,000 constituents, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. The size of a state's House delegation depends on its population. The number of representatives has been a contentious issue since the country's founding, with George Washington disagreeing with proposals for larger districts during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 fixed the number of representatives at 435, a number that has been described as out of whack with the founders' vision.

Explore related products

Herbal Constituents, 2nd Edition: Foundations of Phytochemistry

$48 $55.46

Sovereignty, Civic Participation, and Constitutional Law: The People versus the Nation in Belgium (Routledge Research in Constitutional Law)

$52.24 $54

Constitutional Change and Popular Sovereignty: Populism, Politics and the Law in Ireland (Comparative Constitutional Change)

$52.24 $54.99

Mastering the Requirements Process: Getting Requirements Right

$35.61 $72.99

Legal Guide for Police: Constitutional Issues

$31.85 $54.95

Land Title Registration by Certificate. The Torrens System Simplified and Adapted to Constitutional Requirements, Along Lines Approved by United States Supreme Court Decisions

$29.95

The US Constitution called for at least one representative per state

The US Constitution does set a minimum number of constituents, stipulating that each representative should have no more than 30,000 constituents, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. This ratio of 30,000 constituents per representative was considered a minimum, and it was the only issue on which George Washington pronounced an opinion during the Constitutional Convention. He was so insistent on this ratio that he exercised the first presidential veto in history on a bill that allowed half of the states to exceed this quota.

James Madison, during the 1st United States Congress, proposed a package of constitutional amendments to address the concerns of Anti-Federalists, who were suspicious of federal power under the new constitution. The Congressional Apportionment Amendment was one of these amendments, requiring one representative for every 30,000 constituents, with that number eventually climbing to one representative for every 50,000 constituents. However, this amendment was never ratified, falling one state short of adoption.

The number of representatives in the House has been a contentious issue throughout US history. The House has regularly increased the number of seats to account for population growth, with the maximum number of seats capped at 435 by the Reapportionment Act of 1929. This number was reached in 1913, and it has remained largely unchanged since then, except for a temporary increase to 437 members from 1959 to 1962 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union.

The US has large constituencies compared to other OECD countries

The US Constitution does not set a minimum number of constituents. However, it does stipulate that each representative should have approximately 30,000 constituents, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. This ratio was initially proposed as one representative for every 40,000 constituents during the Constitutional Convention, but George Washington disagreed, and the number was reduced to 30,000. Washington was adamant about this number, even exercising the first presidential veto in history on a bill that would have allowed some states to exceed this quota.

The US House of Representatives is currently capped at 435 seats, with each state assigned at least one seat. This number is not derived from any mathematical formula, the Constitution, or any legislative doctrine. Instead, it represents the number of seats the House had when members decided against further expansion. The House's size is determined every ten years by Congress, based on the census results and the formula used to apportion seats among the states.

The size of a state's total congressional delegation, including representatives and two senators for each state, also determines its representation in the US Electoral College, which elects the president. The US Constitution mandates a decennial census to guide the distribution of seats in the House among the 50 states. After each state is assigned one seat, additional seats are apportioned based on the state's share of the aggregate population.

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the number of seats in the House at 435

The Reapportionment Act of 1929, also known as the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929, capped the number of seats in the House at 435. This number was first reached in 1911 with the addition of Arizona and New Mexico as states. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 established a permanent method for distributing these 435 seats among the states according to each census. This act was passed following nearly a decade of debate and gridlock after the 1920 Census, during which time the population had grown and shifted, leading to vast representational inequity. For example, by 1929, the city of Detroit had doubled in population since the 1910 census, resulting in two congressmen representing 497,000 people each.

The number 435 was not based on any constitutional provision, legislative doctrine, or the founders' vision. Instead, it was a result of members being tired of expansion. The Constitution stipulated that each representative should have roughly 30,000 constituents, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. This ratio was included in the Constitution as a minimum. The first US Congress in 1789 had 59 members, and Madison, in Federalist No. 58, explained the need to "readjust, from time to time, the apportionment of representatives to the number of inhabitants."

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 also differed from previous acts by neither requiring nor prohibiting congressional districts from being contiguous, compact, and equally populated. This allowed states to draw districts of varying sizes and shapes and to elect at least some representatives at-large. The act created an "automatic" reapportionment process, moving the responsibility of determining the seat count from Congress to the president.

Explore related products

Land Title Registration by Certificate: The Torrens System Simplified and Adapted to Constitutional Requirements, Along Lines Approved by United States Supreme Court Decisions.

$18.75

The Making of America: The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution

$20.33 $29.95

The FDA and Worldwide Quality System Requirements Guidebook for Medical Devices

$90.31 $134

Requirement for Reasonable Notice: Form #05.022

$20

The Constitutional Requirements for Tropical Climates and Observations on the Sequel of Disease Contracted in India 1890 [Leather Bound]

$18.9

The Federalist Papers (Signet Classics)

$8.12 $8.95

The number of representatives was augmented over time

The number of representatives in the United States Congress has indeed been augmented over time. The Constitution stipulated that each representative should have roughly 30,000 constituents, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. This ratio of 30,000 constituents per representative was considered a minimum.

The first US Congress, which convened in 1789, had 59 members, with six more seats added in the first year. Congress was directed to conduct reapportionment every ten years, to ensure the House grew as the nation's population increased. The number of representatives was to be augmented from time to time, in the manner provided by the Constitution.

The size of a state's House delegation depended on its population. The Congressional Apportionment Amendment, which was passed by Congress but never ratified, would have required one representative for every 30,000 constituents, with that number eventually increasing to one representative for every 50,000 constituents.

The Apportionment Act of 1911 raised the membership of the House to 433, with two additional seats added in 1912 when Arizona and New Mexico became states, bringing the total to 435. This number remained fixed until a temporary increase to 437 members from 1959 to 1962, when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the number of representatives at 435, and this number has been maintained since 1962.

The House reapportioned itself to preserve representation in most states

The US Constitution provides for proportional representation in the House of Representatives, with seats apportioned based on state population according to the constitutionally mandated Census. The Constitution also stipulates that each representative should have roughly 30,000 constituents, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. This ratio, known as the "minimum ratio", was initially proposed to be part of the Constitution by James Madison, but was not included in the final version.

The House of Representatives has remained at 435 seats since 1913, except for a temporary increase to 437 members from 1959 to 1962 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union. The size of the House is determined by Congress following each decennial census, along with the method of apportionment to be carried out. The current method, known as the Huntington-Hill method or method of equal proportions, was adopted in 1941 for reapportionment based on the 1940 census and beyond.

The House has the power to reapportion itself, and has done so in the past to preserve representation in most states. For example, in 1929, Congress passed the Reapportionment Act, which capped the size of the House at 435 and established a formula for apportioning seats among the states. This Act was passed in response to the failure to reapportion the House in 1921, which had resulted in vast representational inequity due to population shifts.

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set a cap on the number of representatives and established a formula for apportioning seats that minimized the percentage differences in the number of people per representative among the different states. This formula, known as the method of equal proportions, has been used since 1940 and ensures that any additional transfer of a seat from one state to another would result in larger percentage differences.

Frequently asked questions