In previous posts, we talked about current apportionment and concerns about it, proposed the Wyoming Rule to address the concerns and even provided several arguments against the proposed rule. Before we can decide if the Wyoming Rule is the way to go, we need to understand something more basic, how representatives have been divided up. […]
How We Divide the House? Read More »
If you follow debates about representation in the United States, you’ve probably heard of the “Wyoming Rule.” On its face, it sounds simple. Even fair. The idea is this: take the population of the smallest state, usually Wyoming and use that number to decide how many people are in each congressional district. Then divide every
The Wyoming Rule Sounds Fair. But Is It? A Steelman Case Against It. Read More »
This is a quick glance at the numbers, specifically the representation ratio. How many people does the Representative speak? Until the passage of the of the Apportionment Act of 1911, Congress increased the size of the House after every decennial census. Since the beginning, the US population has increased 84x while the representation ratio has
A Look at the Numbers Read More »
Debates about representation in the United States House of Representatives are almost as old as the country itself. When Americans argue today about whether 435 members are enough, they are stepping into a conversation that began in 1787. Back then, writers using pen names filled newspapers with essays about whether the new Constitution would truly
The Federalist v. Anti-Federalist Representation Debate Read More »
