General ticket

General ticket representation is a term used to describe a particular method of electing members of a multi-member state delegation to the United States House of Representatives. States using this method elected their entire delegation in a state-wide manner, either on a single ballot (by means of bloc voting) or on separate ballots for each seat, but always allowing every voter in the state to vote for a candidate for each seat. It was a system used frequently until restricted by the 1842 Apportionment Bill and subsequent legislation, most recently in 1967.[1] After 1842 it was used only occasionally when permitted for states with small delegations or in the years immediately following their admission to the union.

While the framers of the United States Constitution probably intended members of the House of Representatives to be elected from geographically defined single member districts, the Constitution did not so specify. For convenience or in order to assure majority control, many states adopted general ticket representation. In doing so it ensured that a group that might be a majority in only a portion of the state would be always out voted by the larger majority throughout the state.

Contents

General ticket usage

This is a table of every instance of the use of the general ticket in the United States Congress

Congress Dates State &
Number of Representatives
1st 1789-1791 CT (5), NJ (4), NH (3), PA (8)
2nd 1791-1793 CT (5), NJ (4), NH (3)
3rd 1793-1795 CT (7), GA (2), NJ (5), NH (4), PA (13), RI (2)
4th 1795-1797 CT (7), GA (2), NJ (5), NH (4), RI (2)
5th 1797-1799 CT (7), GA (2), NJ (5), NH (4), RI (2)
6th 1799-1801 CT (7), GA (2), NH (4), RI (2)
7th 1801-1803 CT (7), GA (2), NJ (5), NH (4), RI (2)
8th 1803-1805 CT (7), GA (4), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2), TN (3)
9th 1805-1807 CT (7), GA (4), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2)
10th 1807-1809 CT (7), GA (4), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2)
11th 1809-1811 CT (7), GA (4), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2)
12th 1811-1813 CT (7), GA (4), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2)
13th 1813-1815 CT (7), DE (2), GA (6), NH (6), RI (2), VT (6)
14th 1815-1817 CT (7), DE (2), GA (6), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2), VT (6)
15th 1817-1819 CT (7), DE (2), GA (6), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2), VT (6)
16th 1819-1821 CT (7), DE (2), GA (6), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2), VT (6)
17th 1821-1823 CT (7), DE (2), GA (6), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2)
18th 1823-1825 CT (6), GA (7), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2), VT (5)
19th 1825-1827 CT (6), GA (7), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2)
20th 1827-1829 CT (6), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2)
21st 1829-1831 CT (6), GA (7), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2)
22nd 1831-1833 CT (6), GA (7), NJ (6), NH (6), RI (2)
23rd 1833-1835 CT (6), GA (9), MO (2), MS (2), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2)
24th 1835-1837 CT (6), GA (9), MO (2), MS (2), NJ (6), NH (5), RI (2)
25th 1837-1839 NH (5), GA (9), MO (2), MS (2), NJ (6), RI (2)
26th 1839-1841 NH (5), GA (9), MO (2), MS (2), NJ (6), RI (2)
27th 1841-1843 AL (5), GA (9), MO (2), MS (2), NH (5), NJ (6), RI (2)
28th 1843-1845 NH (4), GA (8), MO (5), MS (4)
29th 1845-1847 IA (2), NH (4), MO (5), MS (4)
30th 1847-1849 WI (2)
31st 1849-1851 CA (2)
32nd 1851-1853 CA (2)
33rd 1853-1855 CA (2)
34th 1855-1857 CA (2)
35th 1857-1859 CA (2), MN (2)
36th 1859-1861 CA (2), MN (2)
37th 1861-1863 CA (3), MN (2)
38th to 42nd 1863-1873 CA (3)
43rd to 47th 1873-1883 Fl (2), KS (3)
48th 1883-1885 ME (4)
51st 1889-1891 SD (2)
52nd 1891-1893 SD (2)
53rd 1893-1895 SD (2), WA (2)
54th 1895-1897 SD (2), WA (2)
55th 1897-1899 SD (2), WA (2)
56th 1899-1901 SD (2), WA (2)
57th 1901-1903 SD (2), WA (2)
58th 1903-1905 ND (2), SD (2), WA (3)
59th 1905-1907 ND (2), SD (2), WA (3)
60th 1907-1909 ND (2), SD (2), WA (3)
61st 1909-1911 ND (2), SD (2)
62nd 1911-1913 ND (2), NM (2), SD (2)
63rd 1913-1915 ID (2), MT (2), UT (2)
64th 1915-1917 ID (2), MT (2)
65th to 72nd 1917-1933 ID (2), MT (2)
73rd 1933-1935 KY (9), MN (9), MO (13), ND (2), VA (9)
74th 1935-1937 ND (2)
75th 1937-1939 ND (2)
76th 1939-1941 ND (2)
77th 1941-1943 ND (2)
78th 1943-1945 AZ (2), NM (2), ND (2)
79th 1945-1947 AZ (2), NM (2), ND (2)
80th 1947-1949 AZ (2), NM (2), ND (2)
81st 1949-1951 NM (2), ND (2)
82nd 1951-1953 NM (2), ND (2)
83rd 1953-1955 NM (2), ND (2)
84th 1955-1957 NM (2), ND (2)
85th 1957-1959 NM (2), ND (2)
86th 1959-1961 NM (2), ND (2)
87th 1961-1963 NM (2), ND (2)
88th 1963-1965 AL (8), HI (2), NM (2)
89th 1965-1967 HI (2), NM (2)
90th 1967-1969 HI (2), NM (2)
91st 1969-1971 HI (2)

French version

The scrutin de liste (Fr. scrutin, voting by ballot, and liste, a list) was, before World War I, a system of election of national representatives in France by which the electors of a department voted for all the deputies to be elected in that department. It was comparable with the general ticket. It was distinguished from the scrutin d'arrondissement, also called scrutin uninominal, under which the electors in each arrondissement voted only for the deputy to be elected in it.

Nowadays, it is used on two-round bases to elect one third of the members of the Regional Councils, so to ensure a landslide victory to the party which receives a majority.

Italian version

In Italy, general ticket representation is the system used to elect one fifth of the members of the Regional Councils since 1995. As in French version, its goal is to ensure the assembly control by the leading coalition of parties. Differently from France, it is used on a single round of vote.

See also

References

  1. ^ Public Law 90-196, 2 U.S.C. § 2c)

Sources

External links