Methods Of Apportionment

Apportionment Name Academic Institution Class Professor TIME \@ "MMMM d, yyyy" September 6, 2019 Apportionment In the United States, apportionment is described as the process through which House of Representatives seats are distributed to the fifty states of the United States with respect to the latest census numbers as provided by the constitution. The process is crucial in the distribution of legislative seats amongst the different units that qualify for representation. The different, methods of apportionment are considered, and a preferred method of apportionment discussed with reasons that support the assertions. In the past, different apportionment methods have been used in an attempt to distribute house of representatives’ seats in a manner that makes the most sense and is fair to all. The various methods to be used include; the Viton method which came up with a divisor as a percentage of the entire population for every seat in the house, the population of every state is then split using the divisor, and only whole numbers from the result are considered. Surplus seats are then assigned with respect to the fraction size of each states quotient result until the last one Jason Gauthier, History Staff, PIO, n.d.). Other methods which made use of diverse mathematical formulae comprise; the Jefferson technique, Webster technique, Huntington-Hill technique, and the method of equal proportions. Of the methods mentioned above, the current method which has been in use since 1941 which is the method of equal proportion seems to be the best and most preferable. Under the method of equal proportions, the first fifty seats are allocated to each state regardless of the population size of the state as this is the constitutional provision. After which seats are allocated according...