Expand the House of Representatives

Expand the House of Representatives

Background

Despite the obvious costs and practical difficulties, there is a surprising level of agreement with this idea across the political spectrum. The first article listed below was a major study originally published by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It was then republished, in whole, by the very conservative American Enterprise Institute.

Why this surprising agreement? The answer is to be found in the benefits of expansion, and in their congruence with the founders’ intent for the House. The House was intended, as its name suggests, to be representative, to be responsive, to be accessible, to be "in touch" with ordinary people instead of "out of touch." And being "out of touch" may be the most universal criticism of our national elected representatives today. This is a key reason the opposition to expansion, such as it is, is mostly very mild.

The current size of the house, 435 seats, was set in 1911. At that time, the number of citizens per representative was about 212,000 people. Today it has mushroomed to 761,000 people, or more than three and a half times as many. No wonder it is unresponsive. Inaccessible. Out of touch. Unrepresentative.

The benefits of expansion are many and are well outlined in the articles and videos below.

In the context of our consideration here, however, there is an additional benefit not always mentioned. The size of the Electoral College is the sum of the members of the House plus the Senate (plus three for the District of Columbia). If a newly expanded set of House districts are not badly gerrymandered, the result would be an Electoral College more representative of the nation at large, thus reducing one of the primary problems created by the Electoral College.

Expansion, if done fairly, would dilute and thus reduce the Senate’s unrepresentative contribution to the Electoral College.

Articles

The Case for Enlarging the House of Representatives
By The American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Why the House of Representatives Must Be Expanded and How Today’s Congress Can Make It Happen
By Fordham University School of Law

Should We Expand the House of Representatives? The Founders Thought So
By Kevin R. Kosar, The Hill

When It Comes to the House, Bigger Might Be Better
By Mike Brower, Democracy Docket

America Needs a Bigger House
By The Editorial Board of The New York Times

One Way to Reform the House of Representatives? Expand it.
By Lee Drutman & Yuval Levin, The Washington Post

Videos

Is it Time to Expand the House of Representatives?
By Ali Velshi

Harvard Professor Calls for Expanding House of Representatives
By Danielle Allen, Washington Post Columnist

How Representative is the 'People’s House?'
By NBC News

How to Make Congress Less Terrible
By Robert Reich

Expanding the U.S. House of Representatives - A Radical Old Idea
By the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

House it Going?: The Case for Expanding the House of Representatives
By RepresentWomen

D.C.
Published: September 2023
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