Plural district

In the United States, multi-member districts are typically called plural districts. Currently, these districts exist only in state and local governments, being prohibited at the national level by the Uniform Congressional District Act (UCDA).

Multi-member districts were used at different times to elect the United States House of Representatives, with alternating prohibitions and allowances enacted in history. The first federal (national) ban on multi-member districts for the House was by the 1842 Apportionment Bill. Multi-member districts that were used to elect members to the House reflected geographically-defined districts. They did so on a single ballot where each voter had as many votes as seats being filled (block voting) or using distinct ballots, in separate concurrent contests for each seat (conducting separate plurality elections in the same district). Occasionally the general ticket election system was used.^{[citation needed]}

State governmental systems

Several states allow one district to elect more than one representative to the state legislature. Some states that use this districting appear below.^[1][2][3]

The states below always use multi-member districts.^[2]

• Arizona (two in each district)^[4]
• New Jersey (two in each district)
• South Dakota (two in each district)
• Washington (two in each district)

Other states use districts of diverse district magnitude. The New Hampshire House of Representatives uses differently-sized districts with up to 10 members and block plurality voting.

United States Congress

This is a table of every instance of the use of plural districts in the United States Congress until the first ban, which was enacted in 1842. Instances after are not included.

District magnitude varied from 2 to 4 in many cases.

Congress	State:members elected in state's plural district(s) (name of plural district(s))
3rd	MA:13 (#1, 2, 3, 4) District magnitude ranged from 2 to 4. General ticket election system is used.
4th	PA:2 (#4)
5th
6th
7th
8th	MD:2 (#5), PA:8 (#1, 2, 3, 4)
9th	MD:2 (#5), NY:2 (#2 combined with 3), PA:8 (#1, 2, 3, 4)
10th
11th	MD:2 (#5), NY:4 (#2, 6), PA:8 (#1, 2, 3, 4)
12th
13th	MD:2 (#5), NY:12 (#1, 2, 12, 15, 20, 21), PA:14 (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10), NJ:6 (#1, 2, 3)
14th	MD:2 (#5), NY:12 (#1, 2, 12, 15, 20, 21), PA:14 (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10)
15th
16th
17th	MD:2 (#5), NY:10 (#1, 2, 12, 15, 20), PA:14 (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10)
18th	MD:2 (#5), NY:7 (#3, 20, 26), PA:14 (#4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16)
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd	NY:12 (#3, 8, 17, 22, 23) (district magnitude ranged from 2 to 4); PA:5 (#2, 4)
24th	MD:2 (#4), NY:12 (#3, 8, 17, 22, 23), PA:5 (#2, 4)
25th
26th
27th

See also

Theory and principles

• Electoral district § District magnitude, the number of members per district

Compatible with

• Block voting, voter casts multiple votes in contest where multiple members are returned, on plurality basis
• First-past-the-post, a vote/ballot for one member to be returned, on a plurality basis
  • Multiple ballots, one per designated seat, using system above
• Proportional representation, any voting system that seeks to result in representation in proportion to the number of respective votes cast overall in an election, or in a multi-member district
• General ticket – the return of a single winning party or team of candidates in an electoral district. Voter casts one vote. multiple members elected.
• Representation at-large – a representative/territory being undivided for every purpose as to a representative body. The most-populous at large districts/regions elect multiple members (some states elect just one member).
• Multi-member districts
• State constitutions in the United States
• State legislatures
• State legislature (United States)
• List of United States state legislatures

References

1. State legislative chambers that use multi-member districts, accessed February 11, 2024.
2. Where are the lines drawn?, article at Loyola University website.
3. Changes in Legislatures Using Multimember Districts after Redistricting by Karl Kurtz, September 11, 2012, website of National Conference of State Legislatures.
4. "Electoral systems in Arizona". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2025-01-09.

Sources

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

External links

• U.S. House of Representatives: House History
• Criteria for state legislative districts article at Loyola University website.
• Multimember Districts' Effect on Collaboration between U.S. State Legislators, by Justin Kirkland, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 3 (AUGUST 2012), pp. 329-353 (25 pages), Published By: Washington University