Article 1 House of Representatives Apportionment At A Glance

Background

The process by which the seats of the House of Representatives are delegated is known as apportionment. The United States Constitution provided that the House of Representatives would be represented in direct proportion to a State's population size. Therefore, a certain process would have to be established in order to provide for representation reflecting that prerequisite.

Initially, the Constitution called for the proportion of one member for every 30,000 people of the country's total population, which was to be determined by the United States Census. However, the Constitution never actually set a limit on the amount of seats to comprise the House. Due to increases in population and introduction of new states into the Union, certain provisions would be implemented in order to provide for a more uniform and adequate representation of the states in the House. Currently, there are 435 seats apportioned among the states, with each State guaranteed at least one seat by the statutes of the Constitution.

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