State Legislative Districts
In the 50 states, there are 99 state legislative chambers. The formal name varies from state to state. In 24 states, the legislature is simply called the "Legislature," or the "State Legislature," while in 19 states, the legislature is called the "General Assembly." In Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the legislature is called the "General Court," while North Dakota and Oregon designate the legislature as the "Legislative Assembly."
Composition
Every state (except Nebraska) has a bicameral legislature, meaning that the legislature consists of two separate legislative chambers (or "houses"); Nebraska has a unicameral, or one-chamber legislature. In all bicameral legislatures, the smaller chamber is called the "Senate" and is usually referred to as the "upper house." (Nebraskan legislators are referred to as "senators" for historical reasons; when the legislature was reorganized, the lower house was abolished and the Senate renamed). The smaller chamber usually, but not always, has the exclusive power to confirm appointments made by the governor and to try articles of impeachment. (In a few states, a separate Executive Council, composed of members elected from large districts, performs the confirmation function.) Members of the smaller chamber represent more citizens and usually serve for longer terms than members of the larger chamber, generally four years. In 41 states, the larger chamber is called the "House of Representatives." Five states designate the larger chamber the "Assembly" and three states call it the "House of Delegates." Members of the larger chamber usually serve for terms of two years. The larger chamber customarily has the exclusive power to initiate taxing legislation and articles of impeachment.
States with multi-member districts
According to the Vermont Legislative Research Service, there are five forms of MMD:[1]
- 1. Bloc: free-for-all - voters receive as many votes as there are open seats, and can vote once for a particular candidate. All votes must be used.
- 2. Bloc with partial abstention: Same as bloc, except voters can elect not to use all of their votes.
- 3. Cumulative: Voters are free to use their votes however they wish. This is not used in state legislative elections at present; in 1982, Illinois was the last state to abandon the system.[2]
- 4. Staggered: Two legislators represent the same district with elections happening in different years.
- 5. Seat/post: Instead of running in a pool of candidates with the aim of finishing strongly enough, candidates run for a specific seat as in a single-member district.
Note: Scholars argue that as a matter of structure, staggered and post forms should not be considered MMDs due to races having the appearance of those for single-member districts.[2][3]
Forms can be mixed; bloc voting can occur in a post election, and districts can vary in a state.
Floterial districts are otherwise separate districts that geographically overlap each other, giving the effect of a multi-member district in the area of overlap. These are allowed in New Hampshire.
| State Senate | House of Representatives | Range of members after the 2012 elections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Bloc with partial abstention | 2 | |
| Idaho | Post | 2 | |
| Maryland | Bloc/Post | 3 | |
| New Hampshire | Bloc | 1-11 | |
| New Jersey | Bloc | 2 | |
| North Dakota | Bloc | 2 | |
| South Dakota | Bloc/Post | 2 (some districts 2 posts) | |
| Vermont | Bloc | Bloc | House: 1-2 Senate: 1-6 |
| Washington | Post | 2 (2 posts per district) | |
| West Virginia | Staggered | Bloc | Senate: 2 House: 1-5 |
Legislative districts
Click one of the links below for an overview of individual district articles.
- Alabama state legislative districts
- Alaska state legislative districts
- Arizona state legislative districts
- Arkansas state legislative districts
- California state legislative districts
- Colorado state legislative districts
- Connecticut state legislative districts
- Delaware state legislative districts
- Florida state legislative districts
- Georgia state legislative districts
- Hawaii state legislative districts
- Idaho state legislative districts
- Illinois state legislative districts
- Indiana state legislative districts
- Iowa state legislative districts
- Kansas state legislative districts
- Kentucky state legislative districts
- Louisiana state legislative districts
- Maine state legislative districts
- Maryland state legislative districts
- Massachusetts state legislative districts
- Michigan state legislative districts
- Minnesota state legislative districts
- Mississippi state legislative districts
- Missouri state legislative districts
- Montana state legislative districts
- Nebraska state legislative districts
- Nevada state legislative districts
- New Hampshire state legislative districts
- New Jersey state legislative districts
- New Mexico state legislative districts
- New York state legislative districts
- North Carolina state legislative districts
- North Dakota state legislative districts
- Ohio state legislative districts
- Oklahoma state legislative districts
- Oregon state legislative districts
- Pennsylvania state legislative districts
- Rhode Island state legislative districts
- South Carolina state legislative districts
- South Dakota state legislative districts
- Tennessee state legislative districts
- Texas state legislative districts
- Utah state legislative districts
- Vermont state legislative districts
- Virginia state legislative districts
- Washington state legislative districts
- West Virginia state legislative districts
- Wisconsin state legislative districts
- Wyoming state legislative districts
See also
- States with a full-time legislature
- State legislatures with term limits
- Comparison of state legislative salaries
- Population represented by state legislators
- State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts
- ↑ Vermont Legislative Research Service, "The Pros and Cons of Multi-Member Districts," accessed July 25, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 West North Carolina Library Network, "The Mismeasure of MMD: Reassessing the Impact of Multi Member Districts on Descriptive Representation in U.S. State Legislatures" by Lilliard Richardson and Christopher Cooper, accessed July 25, 2012
- ↑ The Georgia Political Economy Group, School of Public and International Affairs, The University of Georgia, "Ideological Extremism, Branding, and Electoral Design: Multimember versus Single Member Districts" by Anthony Bertelli and Lilliard Richardson, November 10, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2012
