The Undergraduate Law Review at UC San Diego

In 1929, the United States limited the number of congressional districts for the House of Representatives to 435 seats through the Permanent Apportionment Act. At the time, the average number of people within a congressional district stood at around 280,000 persons. In the 2020 census, this number has risen to 761,000 people per district. As a result, the voting power of citizens has been diminished. Representatives also face issues including logistical challenges in providing aid and information to constituents due to large populations. Importantly, the 435-seat limit dilutes the voting power of the electorate by reducing representation in states that have disproportionately large populations. This article argues that the 435 limit enacted by the 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act and the current method of apportioning districts to each state conflicts with precedent set by the Supreme Court from the cases Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) and Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964). The 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act also violates the Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of residents who live in states with slow growth rates. This article will advocate for Congress to repeal the 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act and return to the practice of expanding the number of House seats every ten years, as well as lowering the size of each congressional district.