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Proportional House

Proportional House

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I had always assumed that one would need to change the Constitution in order to have elections with proportional representation for the House of Representatives. But this does not appear to be so. Upon reading Article 1, sections 2 and 4, the issue seems to be wide open.

Article 1, section 2:
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature...

Article 1, section 4:
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Choosing Senators...

It seems to me that any state, if they saw fit, could choose to use proportional representation to apportion their House members. For states that have only one representative, the issue is obviously moot. For states with two or more representatives, this would seem to me to be a viable option.

As a huge fan of proportional representation, I'm feeling inspired to draft a proposal to the Michigan State Legislature in its support. All those in favor say, 'Aye'. All those against...

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Originally posted by rwingett
I had always assumed that one would need to change the Constitution in order to have elections with proportional representation for the House of Representatives. But this does not appear to be so. Upon reading Article 1, sections 2 and 4, the issue seems to be wide open.

Article 1, section 2:
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members ch ...[text shortened]... ichigan State Legislature in its support. All those in favor say, 'Aye'. All those against...
Upon further research, it does appear that the Federal government has mandated single representative districts for the House. The implementation of proportional representation for House of Representatives would require the law's repeal, but there is no Constitutional impediment toward it.

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Aye! But since Congress has very little power, it won't make much of a difference, although it could be a first step towards plurification of US politics.

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