Plural district
{{Short description|Multi-member district in the U.S.}}
{{United States House of Representatives}}
In the United States, multi-member districts are typically called plural districts. Currently, these districts exist only in state and local governments, being prohibited at the national level by the Uniform Congressional District Act (UCDA).
Multi-member districts were used at different times to elect the United States House of Representatives, with alternating prohibitions and allowances enacted in history. The first federal (national) ban on multi-member districts for the House was by the 1842 Apportionment Bill. Multi-member districts that were used to elect members to the House reflected geographically-defined districts. They did so on a single ballot where each voter had as many votes as seats being filled (block voting) or using distinct ballots, in separate concurrent contests for each seat (conducting separate plurality elections in the same district). Occasionally the general ticket election system was used.{{Cn|date=January 2025}}
State governmental systems
Several states allow one district to elect more than one representative to the state legislature. Some states that use this districting appear below. [https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_chambers_that_use_multi-member_districts State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts], accessed February 11, 2024. [https://redistricting.lls.edu/redistricting-101/where-are-the-lines-drawn/ Where are the lines drawn?], article at Loyola University website. [https://ncsl.typepad.com/the_thicket/2012/09/a-slight-decline-in-legislatures-using-multimember-districts-after-redistricting.html Changes in Legislatures Using Multimember Districts after Redistricting] by Karl Kurtz, September 11, 2012, website of National Conference of State Legislatures.
The states below always use multi-member districts. [https://redistricting.lls.edu/redistricting-101/where-are-the-lines-drawn/ Where are the lines drawn?], article at Loyola University website.
- Arizona (two in each district){{Cite web |title=Electoral systems in Arizona |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Electoral_systems_in_Arizona |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}
- New Jersey (two in each district)
- South Dakota (two in each district)
- Washington (two in each district)
Other states use districts of diverse district magnitude. The New Hampshire House of Representatives uses differently-sized districts with up to 10 members and block plurality voting.
United States Congress
This is a table of every instance of the use of plural districts in the United States Congress until the first ban, which was enacted in 1842. Instances after are not included.
District magnitude varied from 2 to 4 in many cases.
| class="wikitable"
! Congress ! State:members elected in state's plural district(s) (name of plural district(s)) | |
| 3rd | MA:13 (#1, 2, 3, 4) District magnitude ranged from 2 to 4. General ticket election system is used. |
| 4th | rowspan="4" | PA:2 (#4) |
| 5th | |
| 6th | |
| 7th | |
| 8th | MD:2 (#5), PA:8 (#1, 2, 3, 4) |
| 9th | rowspan="2" | MD:2 (#5), NY:2 (#2 combined with 3), PA:8 (#1, 2, 3, 4) |
| 10th | |
| 11th | rowspan="2" | MD:2 (#5), NY:4 (#2, 6), PA:8 (#1, 2, 3, 4) |
| 12th | |
| 13th | MD:2 (#5), NY:12 (#1, 2, 12, 15, 20, 21), PA:14 (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10), NJ:6 (#1, 2, 3) |
| 14th | rowspan="3" | MD:2 (#5), NY:12 (#1, 2, 12, 15, 20, 21), PA:14 (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10) |
| 15th | |
| 16th | |
| 17th | MD:2 (#5), NY:10 (#1, 2, 12, 15, 20), PA:14 (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10) |
| 18th | rowspan="5" |MD:2 (#5), NY:7 (#3, 20, 26), PA:14 (#4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16) |
| 19th | |
| 20th | |
| 21st | |
| 22nd | |
| 23rd | NY:12 (#3, 8, 17, 22, 23) (district magnitude ranged from 2 to 4); PA:5 (#2, 4) |
| 24th | rowspan="4" | MD:2 (#4), NY:12 (#3, 8, 17, 22, 23), PA:5 (#2, 4) |
| 25th | |
| 26th | |
| 27th |
See also
;Theory and principles
- {{section link|Electoral district|District magnitude}}, the number of members per district
;Compatible with:
- Block voting, voter casts multiple votes in contest where multiple members are returned, on plurality basis
- First-past-the-post, a vote/ballot for one member to be returned, on a plurality basis
- Multiple ballots, one per designated seat, using system above
- Proportional representation, any voting system that seeks to result in representation in proportion to the number of respective votes cast overall in an election, or in a multi-member district
- General ticket – the return of a single winning party or team of candidates in an electoral district. Voter casts one vote. multiple members elected.
- Representation at-large – a representative/territory being undivided for every purpose as to a representative body. The most-populous at large districts/regions elect multiple members (some states elect just one member).
- Multi-member districts
- State constitutions in the United States
- State legislatures
- State legislature (United States)
- List of United States state legislatures
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|year = 1982|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York}}
External links
- [http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html U.S. House of Representatives: House History]
- [https://redistricting.lls.edu/redistricting-101/where-are-the-lines-drawn/criteria-for-state-legislative-districts/ Criteria for state legislative districts] article at Loyola University website.
- [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24894378 Multimember Districts' Effect on Collaboration between U.S. State Legislators], by Justin Kirkland, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 3 (AUGUST 2012), pp. 329-353 (25 pages), Published By: Washington University
{{USCongresses}}