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How does the US turn population counts into House seats?

Population figures rarely divide into whole numbers of representatives. The US equal-proportions method turns that problem into a ranking of priorities for additional House seats. Use a small invented example to explore how a mathematical allocation rule shapes political representation.

8–10 min

Questions you could explore

  • How does receiving one seat change a state’s priority for the next?
  • Which trade-offs arise when different apportionment methods assign whole seats from the same population figures?

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