Congressional Representation and Constituents: The Case for Increasing the U.S. House of Representatives

The U.S. House of Representatives has been frozen at 435 members for almost a century, and in that time the nation’s population has grown by more than 200 percent. With the number of citizens represented by each House member now dramatically larger, is a major consequence of this historical disparity a diminished quality of representation? Brian Frederick uses empirical data to scrutinize whether representation has been undermined by keeping a ceiling on the number of seats available in the House. He examines the influence of constituency size on several metrics of representation—including estimating the effects on electoral competition, policy responsiveness, and citizen contact with and approval of their representatives—and argues that now is the time for the House to be increased in order to better represent a rapidly growing country. Brian Frederick uses empirical data to scrutinize whether representation has been undermined by keeping a ceiling on the number of seats available in the House. He examines the influence of constituency size on several metrics of representation - including estimating the effects on electoral competition, policy responsiveness, and citizen contact with and approval of their representatives - and argues that now is the time for the House to be increased in order to better represent a rapidly growing country."--Pub. desc The U.S. House of Representatives has been frozen at 435 members for almost a century, and in that time the nation's population has grown by more than 200 percent. This book looks at whether there is a diminished quality of representation with the number of citizens represented by each House member now dramatically larger. It examines the influence of constituency size on electoral competition, policy responsiveness, and citizen contact with and approval of their representatives Dedication Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements 1 Why Study the Size of the House? 2 Debating the Size of the House 3 The Growth of House District Populations and Electoral Competition 4 Constituents: How Many is Too Many? 5 House Constituency Size and Voting Patterns 6 Public Opinion on the Size of the House 7 The Size of the House: Does it Really Matter? Appendix Notes References Index Uses empirical data to scrutinize whether representation has been diminished by keeping a ceiling on the number of seats available in the House and argues that it is the time for the House to be increased in order to better represent a rapidly growing country