House of Reps

馃憢 This project explores apportionment in the US House of Representatives. It includes documentation for a Python package houseofreps, as well as articles exploring the impact of the seat assignment algorithm.

Flipping House votes with apportionment data

How changing the method for seat apportionment in the House would reshape voting. Source: author. Background Representation is a contentious subject. The U.S. Congress tries to balance the representation of each state across it鈥檚 two chambers: the Senate, where each state gets equal representation, and the House of Representatives, where each state gets a voice proportional to its population. But that鈥檚 where things get harder. Based on the last census there are 331....

January 13, 2024 路 7 min 路 Oliver K. Ernst

The impact of 25 people on Congressional voting

This is the story of how Minnesota was just 25 people away from losing a representative. What a difference a few people can make, without even trying. Image by author. Representation is a contentious subject. The U.S. Congress tries to balance the representation of each state across it鈥檚 two chambers: the Senate, where each state gets equal representation, and the House of Representatives, where each state gets a voice proportional to its population....

January 8, 2024 路 5 min 路 Oliver K. Ernst

Sorry, Delaware, America鈥檚 most underrepresented state

Congratulations for losing the state population lottery, 70 years and counting. Some of the smallest details in our democracy can have some of the largest impacts. In this story, we dive into apportionment for the U.S. House of Representatives. We鈥檒l use US Census data to show that Delaware has been the most underrepresented state in the US, 70 years and counting. Source: Author What is this all about? Every US middle school student is taught the basic knowledge about the US Congress....

January 7, 2024 路 9 min 路 Oliver K. Ernst

Documentation for houseofreps Python package

houseofreps is a Python package that implements apportionment methods for assigning seats in the US House of Representatives. Disclaimer: This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. See Terms of Service. Years supported: 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020 A detailed explanation of the current house seat apportionment algorithm can be found here: https://www.census.gov/topics/public-sector/congressional-apportionment/about/computing.html. Data source The data source is from https://www....

January 5, 2024 路 5 min 路 Oliver K. Ernst

What's my vote worth?

Your state鈥檚 voting power in the electoral college. Screenshot from What鈥檚 my vote worth? Credit: Author original聽content. With the recent 2020 election in the United States coming to a close (or should I say closed?), the arguments about the electoral college are flaring up again. Every four years, citizens in dense population areas argue in favor of either changing or abolishing the electoral college system, citing that their votes are being discounted relative to more rural areas....

January 1, 2024 路 5 min 路 Oliver K. Ernst