Congressional Quarterly Election 2006 Update
None by KCPW
Could A Fourth Congressional Seat For Utah Be A Factor In November?
A proposal floating through the halls of Congress would give Utah a 4th seat in the House of Representatives. What's the likelihood of that actually coming to fruition? In this week's Election 2006 update, Congressional Quarterly online editor Bob Benenson tells KCPW's Bryan Schott, "don't hold your breath."
Every week leading up to the 2006 election, KCPW discusses politics with experts from that publication.
Their full coverage for Election 2006, plus an interactive election map, is online.
Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW
1. Raymond Takashi Swenson said:
Other than an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, no one in Washington seems to have noticed that giving a vote in the house to the District of Columbia is a flat violation of the plain language of the US Constitution. Only "States" can elect Representatives, and the District of Columbia is carved out from the states. The LEGAL way to give Washingtonians representation in Congress is to retrocede the District back to Maryland, and let them vote for that state's Senators and Representatives. Maryland is likely to get another seat in the House in the 2010 Census. With no residents in the District, the 3 electoral votes the District got in the 23rd Amendment would simply not be exercised, descreasing Democrats' advantage in close elections. The notion that Utah would benefit from a 4th seat is ridiculous! Do the math: If Utah gets one more seat, but the House has 2 more seats, Utah has NO advantage in future votes. And the OTHER states are actually placed at a DISADVANTAGE because their votes don't count as much in a larger House. Finally, the state-wide district idea is dumb. Every Utahn will have to vote in 2 House elections, and the new 4th Representatives will have to have duplicate offices in every city in Utah! Cedar City will have to work with 2 congressmen to get anything done in the House. The 4th congressman will be tempted to think that he is a Super-Representative because he gets to put his nose into all three of the other districts. This will be an utter waste of taxpayers' money. The cost of doing business with Congress will go UP for Utahns, without any increase in relative power in the House. There is not a single aspect of this bill that is worthwhile! Every part of it is stupid, useless, and unconstitutional, and is motivated by hunger for power rather than any real sense of justice and equality.
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