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Originally, the ratio was one representative for ~30,000 people. When the number was capped at 435 in 1929, the number of constituents for a representative was
by mbreese 4y ago
Originally, the ratio was one representative for ~30,000 people. When the number was capped at 435 in 1929, the number of constituents for a representative was ~ 210,000.
The current ratio is over 700,000.
One could easily make an argument for geographic representation of 30,000 people. Those people should have a lot in common and have similar concerns. You could also make a good argument for 100k-200k people. However, 500k+ people cannot be properly represented by one voice in congress.
If we had even the ratio of representation when the number was fixed (1:210,000), we'd have over 1500 members of Congress.
https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Proportional-Representation/ https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Pr...