The House of Representatives has 435 members based on state population. To be a representative, one must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for at least 7 years, and a resident of the state they represent. Representatives serve 2-year terms and are re-elected in November of even-numbered years. After each census, seats are reapportioned among states based on population changes, and districts are redrawn, which can result in gerrymandering that gives one party an unfair advantage.

1. The House of
Representatives

2. Membership
• 435 members
• Larger body of Congress
• Number of seats per state based on population
• Each state must have at least one

3. Qualifications
• To be elected to the House
of Representatives, you
must be:
• At least 25 years old
• A citizen of the U.S. for at
least 7 years
• A legal resident of the
state you are representing
It is a tradition to live in the
district you represent,
although it is technically not
required
• Your rep is Cliff Stearns-
District 6

4. Term of office
• 2 year terms
• Elections in November of even-numbered
years
• Term begins on Jan. 3rd
• Every 2 years, all 435 members must run
for re-election
• Over 90% of all representatives are re-
elected each year

5. Representation and
reapportionment
• Census (population count) every
ten years
• First census was taken in 1790
• Most recent was 2010
• Next will be 2020
• Reapportionment- pop. of each
state (based on census)
determines new number of
representatives
• Some states lose reps
• Some states gain reps
• Total number always remain 435-

7. Congressional redistricting
• After number of representatives is decided, states
must draw up districts
• One district per representative
• Redistricting-setting up new district lines after
reapportionment has been completed
• Problems
• Unequal population between districts
• Gerrymandering

8. Gerrymandering
• District boundaries drawn in an
irregular way, where one
particular political party gains
advantage
• Named after Elbridge Gerry-
drew a salamander shaped
district in Massachusetts to help
his party gain advantage-a
cartoonists added a head,
wings, and claws to the district
map and called it
gerrymandering
• Gerry + Salamander =
Gerrymander!

9. The original gerrymander

10. gerrymandering- Florida
District 3

11. Gerrymandering- Illinois
district 4

12. gerrymandering
• 2 types- “Packing” and “Cracking”
• Packing
• Crowding the other party’s voters into one
district ensures that your party of choice will win
all the other districts
• Cracking
• Dividing the other party’s voters into small
groups within each district weakens their voter
base
• Supreme Court has ruled that districts must be
compact and physically adjoining, but
gerrymandering still exists today.