Can a US state distribute house seats based on proportional votes

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Can a US state do a statewide election where you vote for a party and it’s proportionally distributed so you can avoid gerrymandering?

5 seats available: 50.01% R, 49.99%D => 3R, 2D

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9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

In theory, it’s possible. The US Constitution does not mandate any specific districts or the like, it simply requires that there be a certain number of representatives per person in a given state, with a minimum of one representative if the state is too small to meet the minimum. (Right now, several states benefit from this effect, especially in the Midwest and Rockies where many states are sparsely populated.)

However, I imagine that many *state* constitutions would not permit this as they most likely DO refer to congressional districts, and thus require representation on the basis of location rather than across the entire state. People may also feel there is higher accountability when a large state’s 10, 15, 20 representatives actually have specific constituents to respond to, rather than the whole state.

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