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House of Representatives
Chapter 10
Section 2
Key Terms
Apportion Reapportion Off-Year Election Single-Member District At-large Gerrymander Incumbent
Size and Terms435 members in the HouseSet by Congress, not fixed by ConstitutionEach State is guaranteed at least one
memberSeven States have just oneApportioned-distributed amongst the
states based on population
Voters in D.C., Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa each elect a delegate, not full fledged
Article 1, Section 2, Clause 1 “Provides that “Representatives shall be…chosen every second Year”
The fact they are always running makes them pay more attention to home
No term limits 1990 Tried to get an amendment to limit
terms (three or four terms)
Reapportion-every ten years after the census the seats will be redistributed
As the nation grew so did Congress1800 142 seats1910 182 seatsNo reapportionment after 1920 census
Reapportionment Act of 1929Set up permanent size at 435Each house member represents 700,000 peopleAfter each census the Census Bureau figures
out how many seats each state should havePresident sends it to CongressAfter 60 days if neither house rejects it it
becomes effective
Congressional ElectionsHeld on the same day in every stateHeld the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
NovemberCongress holds election in October
1872 turned to written or printed ballots Voting machines since 1899
Off-Year Elections- Congressional elections held in non-presidential years
Party that holds the Presidency usually loses seats
Except for 2002 ( because of 9/11) 2006 suffered major losses Democrats won because of dissatisfaction with
George Bush and war in Iraq.
Districts Chosen by 435 separate congressional districts 428 congressional districts for 43 states
Can elect by general ticket system or a single member basis.
Single member district-voters in each district elect one of the states representatives among a field of candidates running for the seat.
At-Large- elected from the state as a whole rather than a particular district
Each voter could vote for each one of the state’s seats in the house
At large elections proved grossly unfair Congress did away with the at large
system 1842
1842 each state legislature responsible for drawing their congressional districtsMust be made up of contiguous territoryEach district have the same number of
inhabitants1901 be of compact territoryGerrymandering- odd shapes drawn to a
political advantage
Most gerrymandering takes two formsTo concentrate the oppositions voters in a few
districtsTo spread the opposition so thinly among several
districts limiting opposition’s chances Goal is to create safe districts Technology makes it easier then ever Gerrymandering is why only a few seats in the
House are actually at risk
No more than 40 members represent districts that can not be qualified safe
Most states carved up as rural vs. urban Wesberry v Sanders ruled that states must
draw congressional districts of substantially equal populations
The courts “one person, one vote” decision had an immediate impact
Gerrymandering solely on race violates the 15th Amendment
Gamillion v. Lightfoot 1960- So called majority-minority district following the 1990 and again in 2000
Struck down race based districts in several cases
Davis v Bandemer 1986Texas became the first state to redistrict
between censuses Purpose was to increase the Republican
seats in U.S. House 2006 Supreme Court held that neither the
constitution nor any act of Congress prevents redrawing lines
Qualifications for officeBe 25 years of ageHave been a citizen of the Unites States for 7 yearsBe an inhabitant of the state from which he or she
is electedCustom not Constitution requires that
representative lives in their districtCustom believes more familiar with problems
Constitution makes the House “the judge of Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own members”
House may refuse a member a seat by majority vote.
Punish members for disorderly behavior by majority vote
With concurrence from 2/3’s to expel
In 1900 House refused to seat Brigham H. Roberts of Utah (polygamist)
1919 and 1920 House excluded Victor Berger Wisconsin (socialist party)Berger wrote several article during WW1
denouncing American participation1919 charged with seditionSupreme Court reversed decision Reelected three more times and seated
Powell v McCormack, 1969Supreme court held that could not exclude if
candidate met constitutional standards In 200 years only three members have
been expelled
Informal QualificationsVaries from state to stateEven district to district
Ability to get out the voteParty identificationName familiarityGenderEthnicity
Incumbent- the person who currently holds the office
90% of those win House reelection Fundraising abilities Each House seat in 2008 topped one million
dollars Right combination spells nomination Wrong spells defeat