You know that in a representative democracy the people have a voice in the making of their laws. Voters in our country elect people to represent and to serve as their voice in the law making process.
Laws are made by the men and women who are elected to Congress by the voters of each state. Congress is made up of two houses, just the way most of the state legislatures are made up. One house is called the Senate, and the other house is called the House of Representatives. Men and women who belong to the House of Representatives are called representatives. They may also be called congressmen or congresswomen. The number of senators in Congress is spelled out in the Constitution.
Under the Constitution, each state has two senators. However, the number of representatives a state has depends on the population of the state. Every state must have at least one representative though. Law now sets the total number of representatives at 435. This means that as the population changes in a state, so does the number of representatives that state is allowed to have. But the total must not change! Therefore, as some states gain representatives, other states may lose
representatives. Each of the fifty states elects two men or women to the Senate of the United States. These senators stay in office for six years. Then they must try to get elected again if they want to stay in the Senate. The number of representatives a state sends to the House of Representatives depends on how many people live in the state. Representatives stay in office for only two years. If they want to stay in the House of Representatives, they must run for reelection every two years. Congress
meets in Washington D.C., the capital city of the United States. "D.C." stands for the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia is not a state. It is not in a state, either. It is a district which acts like a combination of a city and state. The District of Columbia is a unique area where national government business is conducted. TASKS: Use this web site: Office of the Clerk: U.S. House of
Representatives What is the total number representatives for your state?_________ Add the total number of representatives and senators. That number is your electoral number, meaning the number of electoral votes your state has in the presidential election. What is that electoral number?______ Determine which state or states have the most representatives:________________ Which state or states have only one representative?_______________________
"Apportionment" is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the House of Representatives among the 50 states. The Census Bureau conducts the census at 10-year intervals. At the conclusion of each census, the results are used to calculate the number of House memberships to which each state is entitled. Apportionment is the initial use of the results of each census. While there are numerous other uses for census data, a second major use is for geographically defining state legislative districts [see Redistricting Data Program].
Why It's Done
Drafted by the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the states, the U.S. Constitution includes this passage from Article I, Section 2:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers....The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
Ratified in 1865, Amendment XIV, Section 2, to the Constitution gave additional guidance on conducting the census. The census link to tax collection from the states was rescinded by Amendment XVI [1913]. Contemporary guidelines about the decennial census are found in Title 13, U.S. Code [1976].
How Long It's Been Done
As prescribed by the Constitution, the first decennial census was conducted in 1790. Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State at the time, directed the enumeration. Since then, the census has been taken in each year ending in the zero digit. Thus, the 2020 Census is the second census of the 21st century.
Who's Counted
The apportionment calculation is based upon the total resident population [citizens and noncitizens] of the 50 states. In the 2020 Census, the apportionment population also includes U.S. Armed Forces personnel and federal civilian employees stationed outside the United States [and their dependents living with them] that can be allocated back to a home state. These segments were also included in the apportionment population in the 1970, 1990, 2000, and 2010 censuses. The population of the District of Columbia is not included in the apportionment population. For more details about who is counted, see the answers to questions 2 through 7 of our Frequently Asked Questions.
How It's Calculated
The Constitution provides that each state will have a minimum of one member in the U.S. House of Representatives, and then the apportionment calculation divides the remaining 385 seats among the 50 states. Congress decides the method used to calculate the apportionment.
The method for calculating the apportionment has changed over time. The methods used through most of the 20th century and into the 21st century are based upon the use of a mathematically determined priority listing of states. Adopted by Congress in 1941 and used each census thereafter, the method of equal proportions also results in a listing of the states according to a priority value--calculated by dividing the population of each state by the geometric mean of its current and next seats--that assigns seats 51 through 435. The method of equal proportions is calculated according to provisions of Title 2, U.S. Code.
For a technical description of how the method of equal proportions was used in developing the apportionment counts, see Computing Apportionment.
Delivering the Numbers
Title 13, U.S. Code requires that the apportionment population counts be delivered to the President within 9 months of the census date. In the 2020, 2010, and most 20th century censuses, the census date has been April 1, meaning that the statutory deadline for delivering the counts to the President is December 31 of the census year.
According to Title 2, U.S. Code, within one week of the opening of the next session of the Congress, the President must report to the Clerk of the House of Representatives the apportionment population counts for each state and the number of Representatives to which each state is entitled.
Also according to Title 2, U.S. Code, within 15 days, the Clerk of the House must inform each state governor of the number of representatives to which each state is entitled.