Who do Senators and Representatives Represent?

by Kathy Goldschmidt on March 17, 2022

This is part of a series from our latest report, The Future of Citizen Engagement: Rebuilding the Democratic Dialogue. Over the next few weeks, check back for new posts outlining the principles and featuring accompanying resources, articles, and plans to support them.

In our 2021 report The Future of Citizen Engagement: Rebuilding the Democratic Dialogue, we propose ten principles for modernizing and improving the relationship between Congress and the People. All ten will require changes in the constituent engagement culture and practices in both Congress and the organizations that help facilitate grassroots advocacy. The fourth principle is: Senators and Representatives should strive to engage with a diverse sample of their constituents, not just those who vote for them or seek to influence them.

One of the fundamental issues in the practice of our representative democracy is who individual Senators and Representatives feel they actually represent and the actions they take based on that understanding. Do they represent all who are counted by the census, which includes all residents, whether they are eligible to vote or not? U.S. citizens only? Those who are informed and engaged? Eligible voters? Actual voters? Those who voted for them? Though few are so craven, many Americans believe legislators primarily represent those who contribute to their election campaigns.

Each of these populations is different, and legislators decide for themselves who gets their attention and who does not. The view each has of who they really represent drives their relationships with those they view as constituents. And with those they do not. Senators and Representatives are the gatekeepers to Congress at present, though that was not always the case. It is only through them that an individual constituent’s voice will be heard, so it matters a great deal whose voices matter to them.

Throughout our national history, our sense of who is actually represented in Congress has changed in some dramatic ways. We discuss some of the key issues below.

Who is Included in the Census and House Apportionment?

The U.S. Constitution directs that Members of the House of Representatives be distributed—or apportioned—among the states based on a count of each state’s residential population every ten years: the census. This is currently understood as being a count of everyone, including children, non-citizens, and other people ineligible to vote. However, it was not until the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868 that enslaved and formerly enslaved people were counted as whole people rather than 3/5 of a person. “Indians not taxed” (those on reservations) were not counted at all until 1900, but those off reservations have been included since 1860. More recently, military and civilian personnel and their families stationed abroad have been specifically included in the census and counted in the state they declare as their home state. Residents of Washington, DC and the U.S. territories are also included in the census, but not in apportionment, as they do not have Representatives in Congress.

Who is counted in the census and who is not significantly impacts who is represented and who is not. Prior to and during the 2020 census, questions were raised about whether undocumented immigrants should be included in in the census or in apportionment decisions and whether incarcerated individuals should be counted where they lived before they were incarcerated or where they were being incarcerated. The answers to such questions can have significant impact on apportionment and representation in Congress, so the stakes are high when we change our approach. If certain populations are excluded from the census, apportionment, or the drawing of congressional districts, Members of Congress may also exclude them from consideration as they make public policy decisions. They literally will not count. As a result, those people lose their voices in Congress.

How Many People One Member of Congress Represents

For more than a century after Congress was formed, as the population of the country grew, the number of Members of the House of Representatives also grew after each census. There were 65 Representatives at the first Congress in 1789. The number rose to 435—where it stands today—after the 1910 census. Now, rather than increasing the number of Representatives based on population, the 435 Members are redistributed after each census. States that gain residents gain Representatives and those that lose (or gain fewer) residents lose Representatives. In 1910, the population of the United States was about 92 million people, and there were 46 states. That meant that, on average, each Representative had about 212,000 constituents. Now, more than one hundred years later, the population of the nation has more than tripled and there are 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia. Based on the 2020 census, on average about 760,000 people are represented by each Member, and those in the territories and Washington, DC each have a single, non-voting delegate to speak for their entire populations.

State populations have also diluted individuals’ voices compared to early Americans’ voices. Each state has always had two Senators, which means that now California, Texas, Florida, and New York—with current state populations between 20 and 40 million—have the same representation in the Senate as North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming which each have fewer than one million residents. The territories and Washington, DC have no representation in the Senate, despite populations comparable to—or greater than—the least-populous states.

Given the sheer number of people most of them represent now, Senators and Representatives—whether intentionally or not—must prioritize who they engage with because they do not have the capacity to engage with everyone equally. Often that takes the form of engaging mostly with those who reach out to them, but sometimes it takes the form of engaging primarily with constituents who are from the same political party, those who agree with and support them, those who ostensibly speak for a significant number of other people (business owners, local elected officials, lobbyists, etc.), or those who vote. These decisions are necessary because Congress lacks the resources to engage all constituents equally, but they ultimately result in significant numbers of voices being lost to the public policy process.

Who Draws House Districts

Once the census is complete and each state is allocated its number of Representatives, states must divide their populations proportionally into the appropriate number of congressional districts. Within a state, each district must be contiguous, compact, and contain as close to the same number of people as possible. The Constitution is silent on how the process should occur, but custom and precedent is for state legislatures to determine their districts. Given that the majority party in each state legislature ultimately decides how districts will be drawn, this process significantly impacts who Members represent. Even as far back as the first Congress, states have drawn districts in ways that keep the majority party in power, an effort that came to be known as “gerrymandering” in 1812 when Massachusetts Governor Gerry signed off on a district that looked like a salamander.

Historically, states have sought to exclude or minimize certain voices through their district maps. They have drawn districts that dilute or concentrate Black, indigenous, and other people of color—which the Supreme Court held was unconstitutional. They also regularly draw districts that dilute or concentrate the minority political party, which the Supreme Court has deferred to Congress and state legislatures to decide through legislation. And sometimes it’s possible for a state legislature whose majority party is actually the minority in the state to draw districts where majority views—and therefore power and authority—are diminished in favor of minority views. States have also argued about how prison and university populations impact districts, how urban and rural areas should be allocated, and any number of other questions. When Representatives are elected by a minority of the people or by a majority that intentionally excludes minority voices, people lose their say in public policy unless their Representative ensures they are included in other ways outside of elections.

Who Votes in Elections


Casting a vote to choose who will be their voice in Congress is one of the most fundamental—and important—responsibilities for residents of a representative democracy. That choice, and the interests that receive attention in Congress, is significantly impacted by who is allowed to vote, who is able to vote, and who chooses to vote. The U.S. Constitution states that Members of the House of Representatives are to be chosen “by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.” Senators were to be chosen by the state legislatures. Though not specifically defined in the Constitution, in the early days of our nation both state legislators and the electors they deemed to have the requisite qualifications at the time were exclusively influential—often wealthy—white men.

It was not until the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868, after the Civil War, that all male citizens aged 21 or older, except “Indians not taxed,” were guaranteed the right to vote. The 15th Amendment in 1870 further guaranteed that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” However, these amendments were ignored in many parts of the country, so, until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, significant numbers of Black, indigenous, and other men of color were illegally denied the right to vote. Women were not guaranteed the vote until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, and Black, indigenous, and other women of color were also often illegally denied the vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Now that, technically, all citizens over the age of 18 have the explicit right to vote, many still have difficulty doing so, and significant numbers choose not to. States are now passing laws that add burdens to voting that will likely deter significant numbers of people. As it is—except for the 2020 election, which saw record participation at 67%—only 50-65% of eligible voters have turned out for Presidential elections since 1980. In most non-Presidential election years, fewer than 45% of eligible voters have turned out. Senators are on the ballot every six years and Representatives are on the ballot every two years, so many of them are being elected by a small minority of their constituents in non-Presidential election years. Generally, voters also are not representative of their entire district or state population.

Additional Resources

 
citizen engagement, congressional operations