Delaware voters sue for second representative in Congress

Delaware only has one representative in the U.S. House, but a new lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks to change that.

Two registered voters in the state are suing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the director of the Census Bureau and the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives in a federal district court in Washington, D.C., for another seat in the chamber.

The lawsuit seeks to overturn a century-old law that capped the U.S. House of Representatives at 435 members, which the petitioners argue is depriving Delaware of adequate representation. A victory could open the door to expanding the size of Congress’ lower chamber for the first time since 1911.

“Delaware voters have far less representation per person in the United States House of Representatives than voters in any other State—barely half that of Montana voters, a State of nearly the same size,” they argue. “Delaware’s 990,837 people have one Representative. Montana’s 1,085,407 people have two. Delaware voters also receive 23.2% less representation per person than the national average.”

The voters argue that the “founding generation expected the House to grow with the population.” Since Congress established the 435-seat total in 1911, “each Representative now serves, on average, more than three and a half times as many people.”

“The Constitution requires representation according to population. Article I, Section 2 establishes that requirement, and Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment reaffirms it,” the lawsuit states. 

The voters, David Redlawsk and Kevin Price, want a three-judge court to declare the limitation unconstitutional and give Congress a chance to “cure the violation.” If Congress doesn’t act by a certain deadline, they say the court should award Delaware another U.S. House member.

“The judgment would establish a House of 436 Members, allot two seats to Delaware, and preserve every other State’s existing allocation,” they argue.