ABSTRACT
The foregoing chapters amassed a collection of data estimating the impact of retaining the 435-seat limit on the size of the U.S. House of Representatives while the nation’s population has soared dramatically over the past century. This study has built on some of the past research on legislative and constituency size by examining the case of the U.S. House in extensive detail. It has added a degree of empirical insight into what has been a largely normative discussion on the optimal size of the U.S. House and the growth of congressional district populations. The results contained this volume illuminate how these developments have impacted electoral competition, perceptions of service responsiveness, and overall job performance and policy representation, in addition to presenting the first original survey data gauging U.S. public opinion on this subject. Generally these findings lend credibility to the case for increasing the size of the House in line with population growth as a means to strengthen representational linkages between citizens and their representatives.
