Under Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned
among the states by population, as determined by the census conducted every ten years. Each state is
entitled to at least one representative, however small its population.
The only constitutional rule relating to the size of the House states: "The Number of Representatives
shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative."[18]
Congress regularly increased the size of the House to account for population growth until it fixed the
number of voting House members at 435 in 1911.[6] In 1959, upon the admission of Alaska and Hawaii,
the number was temporarily increased to 437 (seating one representative from each of those states
without changing existing apportionment), and returned to 435 four years later, after the
reapportionment consequent to the 1960 census.
The Constitution does not provide for the representation of the District of Columbia or of territories. The
District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana
Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are each represented by one non-voting delegate. Puerto Rico elects a
resident commissioner, but other than having a four-year term, the resident commissioner's role is
identical to the delegates from the other territories. The five delegates and resident commissioner may
participate in debates; before 2011,[19] they were also allowed to vote in committees and the Committee
of the Whole when their votes would not be decisive.[20]
Redistricting
Main article: Redistricting in the United States
States entitled to more than one representative are divided into single-member districts. This has been a
federal statutory requirement since 1967 pursuant to the act titled An Act For the relief of Doctor
Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congressional redistricting.[21] Before that law, general ticket
representation was used by some states.
States typically redraw district boundaries after each census, though they may do so at other times, such
as the 2003 Texas redistricting. Each state determines its own district boundaries, either through
legislation or through non-partisan panels. Malapportionment is unconstitutional and districts must be
approximately equal in population (see Wesberry v. Sanders). Additionally, Section 2 of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965 prohibits redistricting plans that are intended to, or have the effect of, discriminating against
racial or language minority voters.[22] Aside from malapportionment and discrimination against racial or
language minorities, federal courts have allowed state legislatures to engage in gerrymandering to
benefit political parties or incumbents.[23][24] In a 1984 case, Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held
that gerrymandered districts could be struck down based on the Equal Protection Clause, but the Court
did not articulate a standard for when districts are impermissibly gerrymandered. However, the Court
overruled Davis in 2004 in Vieth v. Jubelirer, and Court precedent holds gerrymandering to be a political
question. According to calculations made by Burt Neuborne using criteria set forth by the American
Political Science Association, only about 40 seats, less than 10% of the House membership, are chosen
through a genuinely contested electoral process, given partisan gerrymandering
