Rep. Blumenauer (D) introduces bill to expand size of the House

[BenjiG98]

https://twitter.com/RedistrictNet/status/1620808568940412928?s=20

[Hope For A New Era]

freedom bill

[Unbeatable Titan Susan Collins]

Likely DOA but I do wish it wasn't

The house is too small at this point

[Gracile]

I'm sad this bill has virtually no chance of passing because this is a reform that is desperately needed. US House districts are just too large.

[Pollster]

Should be even larger.

[beaver2.0]

Based Blumenauer.  Basednauer if you will.

[Modernity has failed us]

Every American citizen deserves one Representative in Congress, dammit!

[Born to Slay. Forced to Work.]

Bike grandpa is slaying

[lfromnj]

I'm sad this bill has virtually no chance of passing because this is a reform that is desperately needed. US House districts are just too large.

Probably the best time for a bill to pass. At least now representatives can have a full 5 terms before having to be part of an expanded house.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

I'd prefer an earlier start and a much bigger house, but this is fine.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

And now to do some redistricting specifically for this...

[Bismarck]

I’m sure republicans will have some BS argument for why this is against the founders or something.

[Mr. Smith]

Might as well just go by every county/parish/borough at this point...but this is a good try

[Hope For A New Era]

Now expand the Senate to 150. One seat elected every two years in every state. "Senate classes" now refer only to year of election, not state.


I have absolutely no partisan motive for this, no of course not, none at all

[rhg2052]

Tie it to population, not a set number!!

[hurricanehink]

Tie it to population, not a set number!!

Cube root. Right now that’s 693. If our population was a billion, it would be 1,000.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Good idea to expand the House, though what is the reasoning behind the exact number chosen here?

It’s also worth noting that this would also somewhat reduce the influence of small states in the electoral college, so it’s tough to see Republicans supporting it.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I will accept any reform to our democracy in any way at this point, and expanding the size of the House is an underrated reform.

That said, it doesn't matter because this bill won't go anywhere.

[Oryxslayer]

Good idea to expand the House, though what is the reasoning behind the exact number chosen here?

It’s also worth noting that this would also somewhat reducing the influence of small states in the electoral college, so it’s tough to see Republicans supporting it.

+150 seats is very much an arbitrary number. Maybe its what the govt has office space available for without having to expand beyond what they already have plus what could be grabbed from other buildings. Maybe its just cause that number would put the average district size around what Blumenauer represented when he came to DC. Maybe it's cause only slightly over half the seats go to Biden states and under half to Trump ones, never mind the fact coalitions change, in-state geography, and gerrymandering.

Who knows.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Good idea to expand the House, though what is the reasoning behind the exact number chosen here?

It’s also worth noting that this would also somewhat reducing the influence of small states in the electoral college, so it’s tough to see Republicans supporting it.

+150 seats is very much an arbitrary number. Maybe its what the govt has office space available for without having to expand beyond what they already have plus what could be grabbed from other buildings. Maybe its just cause that number would put the average district size around what Blumenauer represented when he came to DC. Maybe it's cause only slightly over half the seats go to Biden states and under half to Trump ones, never mind the fact coalitions change, in-state geography, and gerrymandering.

Who knows.

Seems quite close to the Wyoming rule. It just doesn’t set it in stone, for some reason.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

And now to do some redistricting specifically for this...

Speaking of which, the more districts you have, the harder it is to gerrymander. Added bonuses are that lobbying is more expensive this way and it is cheaper for candidates to run.

The New Hampshire State House does this very well. I can't think of any downsides to this idea.

[Roll Roons]

And now to do some redistricting specifically for this...

The New Hampshire State House does this very well. I can't think of any downsides to this idea.

Think about how many more House members we would get from, say, Northwest Georgia. East Texas. Florida's Panhandle. Northwest Arizona. Western Colorado.

[progressive85]

Is the New Hampshire House actually bigger than the U.S. House?  If so, the U.S. House should always be the biggest.

I'm in favor of enlarging the size of the House - maybe to 501.  That seems like a basic number (taking into account the need for a majority threshold in a two-party system).  The residents of D.C. need a fully voting member for sure so that would be the first new seat I'd add.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

And now to do some redistricting specifically for this...

The New Hampshire State House does this very well. I can't think of any downsides to this idea.

Think about how many more House members we would get from, say, Northwest Georgia. East Texas. Florida's Panhandle. Northwest Arizona. Western Colorado.

That's the funny thing about the NH State House: the upside is anyone can get elected there. The downside is anyone can get elected there.

But obviously there would be plenty more House members from other parts of the country as well.

Is the New Hampshire House actually bigger than the U.S. House?  If so, the U.S. House should always be the biggest.

I'm in favor of enlarging the size of the House - maybe to 501.  That seems like a basic number (taking into account the need for a majority threshold in a two-party system).  The residents of D.C. need a fully voting member for sure so that would be the first new seat I'd add.

Not quite. Still, 400 members: each representing about 3,300 residents.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Is the New Hampshire House actually bigger than the U.S. House?  If so, the U.S. House should always be the biggest.

I'm in favor of enlarging the size of the House - maybe to 501.  That seems like a basic number (taking into account the need for a majority threshold in a two-party system).  The residents of D.C. need a fully voting member for sure so that would be the first new seat I'd add.

No.
NH House has 400 seats.
US House has 435.