The US House of Representatives has been a body that is elected with its membership every two years all through history. This two-year term was as a result of their Federal constitutional convention, there has been concerted effort as late as 1960 to change its length. The two-year term has been a template of the legislative activities in the house.
Points covered:
- Constitutional Provision of the House of Representatives
- History of the House of Representatives
- Membership
- The Function of the House of Representatives
- What is the prerequisite for being a Representative?
Constitutional Provision of the House of Representatives
The House of Representative Election is clearly backed up by the US Constitution in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 1 “The House of Representatives shall be composed by members chosen every second year by the people of the several states and the Electors in each state, shall have the qualification requisite for Electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature”
History of the House of Representatives
According to bensguide.gpo.gov When the first Congress met in 1789, they were 59 Representatives in the House then. As the population grew and the number of states increased, the number of Representatives also increased greatly. There was a law passed in 1911 that fixed the number of Representatives to be 435. The members of the House will be elected every two years. The number of persons representing each state depends on the population of the state as stated nationally. There is a Representative for every congressional district and every state has at least one congressional district.
Most states conduct a primary election to decide who will be on the ballot by November general election. Some state parties hold a convention in conjunction with the primary. There won’t be a primary election if a candidate is unopposed. The names of those who represent a major political party will be placed on the state’s primary ballot. Minor party candidate is chosen by their party’s by-laws, independent candidate nominates themselves.
Minor candidates and independent candidates must meet the state’s requirement so they could be placed on the general elections ballot.
Senate and House of Representatives election voters differ, different people, vote for them. The state’s eligible voters vote for Senator. A Representative is elected by those voters that are in a congressional district that the candidate will represent. The person with the highest number of votes wins.
The US Presidential election process is almost the same as that of the election of the US House of Representatives but differs in diverse ways with the exclusion of the Electoral College.
Membership
It is clearly stated that the election of the House of Representatives is every two years, so the public will be kept abreast as regards the election processes and also avert further confusion. The House is the larger part of the Congress, that is to say, it is larger than the Senate. Its membership is based on the population of each state. Constitutional its there are 435 Representatives in the House and those from the district of Columbia and the U.S territories that are not voting.
The Function of the House of Representatives
The House functions as a body with the powers to scrutinize and impeach Federal officials. They come in full function in the case where the Electoral College result is indecisive, the facilitate the process to elect a President. The Senate may amend the Revenue and Spending bills which traditionally originates in the House, with any other piece of legislation.
What is the prerequisite for being a Representative?
1) Must be a minimum of 25years of age
2) Must be a citizen for 7years
3) Must be a resident of the state represented at the time of the election.
Conclusion
The House of Representative Election is another election that comes with diverse processes and it comes up every two years. It has its own processes too, somehow similar to the Presidential election but different in diverse ways. It doesn’t have an electoral vote, the congressional district decides the winner of the election. The next Representative Election could still be similar to the US Election 2020 but will be different in diverse ways. The way the election should be carried out is clearly spelt out in the constitution thereby keeping the public abreast with certain information.
References:
bensguide.gpo.gov
https://www.house.gov/
