[Last update 2001mar09]

Federal Representation 2002 - 2010


In the wake of Election 2000, there has been a lot of talk about the "unfairness" of the Electoral College. However, the United States is a Republic. Each state receives one Elector for each Senator and one Elector for each Representative it sends to Congress. The District of Columbia has 3 Electors, 0 Senators, and 0 Representatives.

"Each state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress;..." (Article II, Section. 1. of the Constitution).
"A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State;..." (Amendment XXIII. of the Constitution, ratified March 29, 1961)

If then, there is "unfairness" in the allocation of the Electoral College, there must also be "unfairness" in the allocation of Congress. A minimum one Representative per State, regardless of its population, could also be construed as unfair (note that almost all the States are in the one Congressman per 600-something thousand range... note the disparities from that re: those States that have 1 Representative which is even more exacerbated with their 3 Electoral Votes).

This page allows you to sort the states alphabetically, by population, and by people per Elector, Senator, and House Member.

References:


Federal Representation 2002 - 2010
Sorted by People per House Seat

  (sort) (sort)   (sort)   (sort) (sort) (sort)
Rank State Population Percentage
of
Population
Electors People
per
Elector
Senators People
per
Senate
seat
House
seats
People
per
House
seat
1Montana905,3160.32%3301,7722452,6581905,316
2Delaware785,0680.28%3261,6892392,5341785,068
3South Dakota756,8740.27%3252,2912378,4371756,874
4Utah2,236,7140.79%5447,34321,118,3573745,571
5Mississippi2,852,9271.01%6475,48821,426,4644713,232
6Oklahoma3,458,8191.23%7494,11721,729,4105691,764
7Oregon3,428,5431.22%7489,79221,714,2725685,709
8Connecticut3,409,5351.21%7487,07621,704,7685681,907
9Indiana6,090,7822.16%11553,70723,045,3919676,754
10Kentucky4,049,4311.44%8506,17922,024,7166674,905
11Kansas2,693,8240.96%6448,97121,346,9124673,456
12Wisconsin5,371,2101.90%10537,12122,685,6058671,401
13South Carolina4,025,0611.43%8503,13322,012,5316670,844
14Arkansas2,679,7330.95%6446,62221,339,8674669,933
15Nevada2,002,0320.71%5400,40621,001,0163667,344
16Michigan9,955,8293.53%17585,63724,977,91515663,722
17Maryland5,307,8861.88%10530,78922,653,9438663,486
18Washington5,908,6842.10%11537,15322,954,3429656,520
19New York19,004,9736.74%31613,06429,502,48729655,344
20Illinois12,439,0424.41%21592,33526,219,52119654,686
21Texas20,903,9947.41%34614,823210,451,99732653,250
22Idaho1,297,2740.46%4324,3192648,6372648,637
23New Jersey8,424,3542.99%15561,62424,212,17713648,027
24Pennsylvania12,300,6704.36%21585,74626,150,33519647,404
25Virginia7,100,7022.52%13546,20823,550,35111645,518
26North Dakota643,7560.23%3214,5852321,8781643,756
27Arizona5,140,6831.82%10514,06822,570,3428642,585
28Florida16,028,8905.68%27593,66328,014,44525641,156
29California33,930,79812.03%55616,924216,965,39953640,204
30Louisiana4,480,2711.59%9497,80822,240,1367640,039
31Maine1,277,7310.45%4319,4332638,8662638,866
32Alabama4,461,1301.58%9495,68122,230,5657637,304
33Massachusetts6,355,5682.25%12529,63123,177,78410635,557
34Tennessee5,700,0372.02%11518,18522,850,0199633,337
35Ohio11,374,5404.03%20568,72725,687,27018631,919
36Georgia8,206,9752.91%15547,13224,103,48813631,306
37Alaska628,9330.22%3209,6442314,4671628,933
38Missouri5,606,2601.99%11509,66022,803,1309622,918
39North Carolina8,067,6732.86%15537,84524,033,83713620,590
40New Hampshire1,238,4150.44%4309,6042619,2082619,208
41Colorado4,311,8821.53%9479,09822,155,9417615,983
42Minnesota4,925,6701.75%10492,56722,462,8358615,709
43Vermont609,8900.22%3203,2972304,9451609,890
44Hawaii1,216,6420.43%4304,1612608,3212608,321
45New Mexico1,823,8210.65%5364,7642911,9113607,940
46West Virginia1,813,0770.64%5362,6152906,5393604,359
47Iowa2,931,9231.04%7418,84621,465,9625586,385
48Nebraska1,715,3690.61%5343,0742857,6853571,790
49Rhode Island1,049,6620.37%4262,4162524,8312524,831
50Wyoming495,3040.18%3165,1012247,6521495,304
51District of Columbia574,0960.20%3191,3650 0 
Totals281,998,273100.00%538 100 435 
State Average (1)   444,457 2,814,242 651,097
Country Average (2)   524,160 2,814,242 646,952
 

(1) The averages are computed by weighing each state equally. The District of Columbia is included in the Elector compuatations but not in the Senate or House computations.

  • People Per Elector = Sum of (People per Elector) ÷ 51 jurisdictions
  • People Per Senate Seat = Sum of (People per Senate Seat) ÷ 50 jurisdictions
  • People Per House Seat = Sum of (People per House Seat) ÷ 50 jurisdictions

(2) The averages are computed using the total population of country. The District of Columbia is included in the Elector compuatations but not in the Senate or House computations.

  • People Per Elector = Population of 281,998,273 ÷ 538 electors
  • People Per Senate Seat = Population of 281,424,177 ÷ 100 Senate Seats
  • People Per House Seat = Population of 281,424,177 ÷ 435 House Seats
 
 


  United States Census 2000 Home  
 
  Apportionment of Representatives and Electors  
  2000 - 2010 Federal Representation by People per House Seat, Senate Seat, and Electors  
  Utah 2000 Census Challenge  
  Utah, et al. v. Evans, Secy of Commerce 01-0714  
 
  An Historical Analysis of the Electoral College  
 
  The Math Behind the 2000 Census Apportionment of Representatives  
  PERL script used to generate the Apportionment