[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 Alphabetically

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