The representation of various states in the House of Representatives in extremely imbalanced. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the average constituents per house district in California is 465,674, but in Arkansas the average constituents per house district is 29,159. This is not the only example unfair representation in Congress; Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa, and other US territories are not represented by a voting member in Congress. Both of these problems do not have easy solutions, especially when it comes to chaining the constitution or territories applying for statehood.

Many suggest simple fixes to these issues, such as creating a mandates number of constituents per representative throughout each state. An example would be making ever representative have 100,000 constituents. Although this may become more fair, there are many challenges. Each state has a different population, so dividing the constituents equally so that each state was represented exactly the same would be incredibly difficult. Also, there are over 327 million people living in the United States who are all represented in Congress. If there were a law mandating 100,000 constituents per representative, there would be over 3,270 members of the House of Representatives. As we see in China’s National Peoples Congress which includes over 3,000 members, the United States Congress would potentially turn into nothing more than a rubber stamp and it would be incredibly difficult to have any meaningful discussions.

However, there are ways to make representation more equal. The elimination of gerrymandering would improve the conditions under which representatives are elected. One simple fix to this would be allowing a computer to randomly but equally draw new district lines in each state. This would, however, lead to elections with totally unprecedented outcomes due to the redistricting. Another way to create more fairness throughout Congress would be to allow Washington D.C. and other US territories to have voting members of Congress. As of right now, these districts and territories have a member in Congress, but this person cannot vote. Many of their citizens see this as “Taxation without representation,” something that America fought so hard to be free of.

In conclusion, there are many factors that could lead to a more fair Congress, but these changes would greatly impact how out Congress is run.