Here is a great fix for Congress and the Electoral College. One of the largest issues with Congress is that it is too small. Proportionally we don’t have enough representatives for the size of our population. And this is due to the Reapportionment Act of 1929.
This Act capped the US House, permanently, at 435 seats. It was temporarily lifted and increased to 437 seats in 1959 when Alaska and Hawaii became states. But the lift didn’t last long and was reverted back to 435 seats in 1963.
Back in 1929, the population of the United States was around 121 million people, today that is 346.8 million people. The population has tripled since the Act was put into place.
Mathematically, in 1929 a Representative had a constituent base of slightly more 278,000 people. While today that base can be over 797,000 people. Far, far too many for a person to really represent well.
There needs to be an Act that changes the 1929 Reapportionment Act. This will make Congressional Districts smaller, more numerous, and increase the size of the House of Representatives.
I am not alone in this thought either. There are others out there that think the same thing. It would be better for everyone. The question is what should the new cap be for the US House?
An easy question when thought of in slightly different light. Don’t cap the number of representatives. Cap the size of the districts by population. Make the largest possible district size limited to 500,000 people. Less than what some of them are now, and far larger than what they were in 1929.
That would give us about 694 members of Congress, an increase of 259 members. Congressional districts would be smaller, making it easier for the congressman to represent their district and constituents.
It would also increase the number of Electoral votes needed to win the Presidency by 130 votes.
Both of these things are a great idea. And every decade, with the census results. Congress could grow in size as the population increases. And so would the number of needed Electoral votes. It’s a win-win all around.