House of Representatives Basic Facts

State Representation Key Green – Gained Purple – Lost Yellow – no change State Representation

House of Representative Size Congress set the size at 435 members State’s representation set by the Census The 435 votes are apportioned Each State has at least one vote Washington DC, Guam, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa elect a representative with no voting power Puerto Rico chooses a resident commissioner, also with no vote

Reapportionment The representation is redistributed after each Census The original number was set at 65 until a Census could be taken After the first Census the number was changed to 106. By 1912 the size was 435 The House ignored the 1920 Census

2003 Apportionment States that gained States that lost New York – 2 Arizona – 2 Florida – 2 Georgia – 2 Texas – 2 California – 1 Colorado – 1 Nevada – 1 North Carolina - 1 States that lost New York – 2 Pennsylvania – 2 Connecticut – 1 Illinois – 1 Indiana – 1 Michigan – 1 Mississippi – 1 Ohio – 1 Oklahoma – 1 Wisconsin - 1

Reapportionment Act of 1929 Set the “permanent” size of the House at 435 The Census Bureau decides the reapportionment after each census The President then sends this plan to Congress Each house has 60-days to reject the plan. If neither does, it becomes effective.

Term Each elected Representative serves a two year term. There is no limit to how many times they can be elected John Dingell, Democrat from Michigan, has served the longest. He first took office in 1955 when he took his late father’s seat.

Congressional Elections When are they held? First Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even numbered years Off-Year Elections Also known as midterm elections Held in the middle of the Presidential term Usually the party in charge, President’s party, loses seats in this election

Congress after the 2006 elections

Voting Districts Single Member District – Congressional District - The voters of each district will elect their own Representative General Ticket - at large – Since1842 this can only be used for States with one Representative

Gerrymandering Voting districts drawn to favor one party over the other by including more of that parties members. Districts may be drawn to concentrate the opposition’s voters in just a few districts leaving the majority vote for their candidates Districts may be drawn to leave just a few members of the opposition party in each district and keep them from winning

“One person, one vote” Reynolds v. Sims: 1964 Alabama law required one State Senator from each county Some counties had more people Did it violate 14th Amendment equal protection clause? Supreme Court –Alabama law did violate – that districts should be drawn by population Oyez: Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument Wesberry v. Sanders: 1964 Wesberry’s Georgia 5th Congressional district was larger than most He sued saying it violated his equal vote based on 14th Amendment Supreme Court agreed and Georgia was forced to redraw its districts. Oyez: Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964), U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary & Oral Argument

House of Representatives Qualifications 25 years old US citizen for at least seven (7) years Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he/she is elected Informal qualification is that they live in the district from which they are elected Others that can make or break a candidate: party identification, how well known is the name, gender, ethnic characteristics, and political expertise

Challenges Majority vote to refuse to seat a member-elect 1900 Brigham Roberts (Utah) because he was a polygamist 1967 Adam Clayton Powell was denied a seat because he was accused of misappropriating funds– Supreme Court said they must seat him because he met the qualifications

Punish for “disorderly behavior” Requires a majority vote 1989: Jim Wright (D) resigned before he could be reprimanded for financial dealings with interest groups 2006: Tom Delay (R) resigned before he was reprimanded 1990: Barney Frank (D) was reprimanded for his relationship with a male prostitute – reelected by his constituents 2006: Mark Foley (R) resigned after it was revealed he sent inappropriate e-mails to a page 1997: Gerry Eastman Studds (D) Censured by the House of Representatives for having sexual relations with a teenage House page.

Expel a member by a 2/3 vote Five members have been expelled from the House three of them were removed in 1861 for supporting the Confederate States' secession, which led to the Civil War. In 1980, Michael Myers (D) was expelled for accepting bribes (376 to 30) In 2002 James Traficant (D) was expelled following his conviction for taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington DC, and is currently serving out an 8-year prison term scheduled to end in 2010..