# House constituencies without geographic boundaries
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 29, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796 "2004-10-29T03:33:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796/1 "2004-10-29T03:33:57Z")
Could a state set up constituencies for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on something other than the locations of voters’ residences?
For example, take a state like Maine which is currently entitled to send two members to the House. Could Maine have all males vote in one race and all females vote in another? (Please note that I’m definitely not advocating this. I’m just offering it up as an example of one way you could divide up the voters based on something other than where they happen to live.)
In the past, geographic districts were probably the only practical choice. Nowadays, though, with electronic voting, it seems like it could be more flexible.
Does the Constitution allow it?
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### Author:  [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2004, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796/2 "2004-10-29T03:53:30Z")
Other than stating that the number of Reps a state gets is determined by it’s population (and the starting number of Reps each state was entitled to before the first census) the Constitution is silent on the matter.
There may be federal laws involved in how a state must determine it’s Representatives. For example, the number of Reps (435) is a matter of federal law, and is not in the Constitution.
If it’s not a matter of federal law, then I suppose it would be up to each state. New York could (supposedly) put everyone’s name in the race and put the top 31 vote getters in Congress.
My gut feeling, however (IANAL) tells me that federal law probably covers this.
Zev Steinhardt
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### Author:  [@Hadrian0117](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian0117)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796/3 "2004-10-29T04:07:34Z")
[proportional representation](http://www.fairvote.org/reports/1995/chp1/richie2.html)
> [@chukhung](#):
>
> Could a state set up constituencies for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on something other than the locations of voters’ residences?
>
> For example, take a state like Maine which is currently entitled to send two members to the House. Could Maine have all males vote in one race and all females vote in another? (Please note that I’m definitely not advocating this. I’m just offering it up as an example of one way you could divide up the voters based on something other than where they happen to live.)
>
> In the past, geographic districts were probably the only practical choice. Nowadays, though, with electronic voting, it seems like it could be more flexible.
>
> Does the Constitution allow it?
They could have multi-member districts or elect all representatives at-large using some form of proportional representation
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796/4 "2004-10-29T04:07:48Z")
I think that some state that had its reapportionment plan thrown out had to go and have an election where everybody in the state got to choose all the representatives and then they just got assigned 1-X.
But I should look this up further.
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### Author:  [@Hadrian0117](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hadrian0117)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2004, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796/5 "2004-10-29T04:09:19Z")
[http://www.fairvote.org/reports/1995/chp1/richie2.html](http://www.fairvote.org/reports/1995/chp1/richie2.html)
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### Author:  [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-constituencies-without-geographic-boundaries/271796/6 "2004-10-29T04:15:26Z")
The key provision from [federal law](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/2/chapters/1/sections/section_2c.html) is as follows:
> [@](#):
>
> In each State entitled . . . to more than one Representative . . . there shall be established by law a number of districts equal to the number of Representatives to which such State is so entitled, and Representatives shall be elected only from districts so established, no district to elect more than one Representative . . .
The term “district” can be understood to imply a geographic boundary of some sort.