The topic of redistricting in the United States shows a prevalent issue in the country today, and this issue can best be seen through the apportionment of Congressional Representatives in the House. For example, Montana’s 1,050,493 citizens are each represented by a single Representative in the House whereas in the state of Rhode Island, its 1,059,639 citizens are enough to earn them two Representatives. On the other hand, the 601,767 citizens living in Washington D.C. do not have a single Representative. Our current system for determining the number of Representatives apportioned is flawed in that the ratio of representation in the U.S. has been steadily increasing with our growing population. With this, people have less representation in the government as time goes on.

This problem of appropriate representation in the government is a difficult one to solve. In the country, the ratio of each member of the House of Representatives to the population is currently one for every 747,184 as opposed to the ratio of one for every 209,447 seen in 1910. If we wanted to reach the same level of representation present in 1910, the United States would need around 1,555 Representatives in the House. While we could potentially create legislature to achieve this, it is not very practical considering that we have only 435 Representatives as of now. Another flaw in the current apportionment system in the United States is the process of the national census. Census takes place every ten years in America which makes it difficult to determine the exact number of people living in the country. Even then, the census does not account for the hundreds of thousands of homeless people living inside the country. If we went through the process of the census more often, it would be easier to gauge how many people there are in the country and then make an effort to make sure that everyone is represented in the government. 

In conclusion, I believe that if a census was held every five years as opposed to ten and the number of Representatives in the House increased, there would be a better representation of the people in America’s government. With both of those changes being made, the country would have a better understanding of how many citizens there are and with that information the government could introduce more Representatives in an attempt to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard. In our current system, many citizens probably feel as though they are one of many and that their voice will never be heard. This is a problem in a democracy where it is essential that issues brought up by the people are addressed. With my proposed ideas, the citizens of America would be represented in issues that affect the country, and they will play a more significant role in society as a whole. 

Anya Chew is a third year student at the Ohio State University. She attended Cleveland Heights High School on the east side of Cleveland and her early interest in political science led her to Columbus. Anya is double majoring in Political Science and Security & Intelligence alongside minors in both German and Military History. While her academics keep her occupied throughout the week, Anya still finds time to hold three jobs at Ohio State working at the RPAC, as an undergraduate student ambassador, and as a communications assistant for the Political Science department. She is also involved in a number of student organizations on campus as a member of the Model UN team and CCWA. Outside of school, Anya has a number of hobbies including traveling the world, reading books, football, and skydiving. In addition to this, she also keeps service to others as a priority in her life through her work with the Buckeye Food Alliance. BFA is a student run food pantry that is based in Lincoln Tower that works to feed people in the Columbus area. After her time at Ohio State, Anya wants to get a job working with the defense department in Ohio State. I am very fortunate to have someone as experienced and dedicated as Anya as my mentor for my first year in PSL at Ohio State!