Hi Folks,

I'm excited to share the news that the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has released a new report, "The Case for Enlarging the House of Representatives." 

This landmark report advocates for expanding the House of Representatives in order to create more equal representation in Congress and in presidential elections for voters living in more populous states. California's voters' voting power is artificially suppressed due to the cap on the size of the House of Representatives, limiting the total number to 435. This cap was established by federal statute in 1929 and can be amended through federal legislative action; no constitutional amendment is required.

Lifting the cap on the House and making the Electoral College more representative is a reform idea the California Voter Foundation has been exploring for a while now. This past June, I gave a presentation to the Alameda County Bar Association entitled, Reforming the Electoral College by Expanding the House of Representatives as part of its Racial Equity Series. We are looking forward to exploring this reform idea further in 2022. I hope you have a chance to check out the new report and tomorrow's web event launch. Details are below. I will be posting on Twitter about this topic under the hashtag #UncaptheHouse. 

Also, there is still time to make a year-end donation to support CVF! Please donate if you can, your support is valued and much appreciated.

-- Kim Alexander, President & Founder, California Voter Foundation

Web event Dec. 16: Should the House of Representatives be Expanded?
 

On December 16th, the American Enterprise Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences will host a web event with a livestream, 10 - 11:15 am Pacific Time, to explore the question of expanding the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Register and watch the livestream here. 

Panelists will include two of the authors of the Academy's new report, "The Case for Enlarging the House of Representatives", Lee Drutman of New America and Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute, along with Ruth Bloch Rubin of the University of Chicago, Kevin R. Kosar of AEI and moderator Jonah Goldberg also with AEI. To learn more about this event and the new report, see this American Academy of Arts & Sciences' news release, "A Call to Strengthen Democracy by Enlarging the House of Representatives."

The Academy's new report expands on one the 31 bipartisan recommendations featured in its 2020 report, "Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century." The American Academy of Arts & Sciences was founded in 1780 to provide a new nation with valuable knowledge to navigate its greatest challenges.