House

• The House has 435 seats to it. Congress passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929 that said the 435 seats was the maximum number of seats allowed.

• Members are elected every 2 years.

Senate

• The Senate has 100 members. • 2 per state• Each serve for 6 years.• The Senate is a continuous body,

that is, all of its seats are never up for election at the same time.

Terms and qualifications for the House

• There are formal qualifications and informal qualifications.

• Formal qualifications:• You must be at least 25 years

old.• Must be a U.S. citizen for at

least 7 years.

• Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.

• Informal qualification on the other hand vary from state to state.

Terms and qualifications for the Senate

• You have to be at least 30 years old.

• Has to live in the U.S. for at least 9 years.

• Has to be an inhabitant of that state.

Election process for the House

• Election occurs every Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even numbered year. Except for Alaska which they hold elections in October due to weather.

•The representatives for the House are chosen by voters in that district.

Election process for the Senate• Election day is the same day for

each State. The Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

• Only one Senator is elected from a state in any given time except when the other seat has been vacated by death, resignation, or expulsion.

Equal vs. Proportional Representation

• The equal vs. proportional representation was part of the Great Compromise.

• The House has 435 members and is not fixed by the Constitution.

• The Constitution says that the total number of seats in the House of Representatives will be apportioned (distributed) among States on the basis of their population.

• The House has proportional representation.

• Each State is guaranteed at least one seat in the House, no matter what the population. Today, seven states have only one seat which is Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North and South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

• The Constitution tells Congress to redistribute seats after each decennial census.