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.
NEXT: Election of the Speaker Power of Speaker after Henry Clay