At-Large

An official elected by an entire jurisdiction rather than a subdivision of it is said to be elected at-large. United States senators, two for each state, run statewide and therefore are elected at-large.

Most U.S. representatives, however, are elected from congressional districts that are smaller than an entire state and do not run at-large. The current exceptions are the representatives from the seven states that have only one House seat because of small populations. In their cases the entire state is the district. Those states are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.

The 435 seats in the U.S. House are apportioned on the basis of population, but under the Constitution each state is entitled to at least one seat, making true proportional representation mathematically impossible. After each ten-year census the seats are redistributed and states that gain or lose seats must redraw the district lines to make each one as nearly equal in population as possible. (See Reapportionment and redistricting.)

For more than half a century after the founding of the country, several states had multimember districts that elected more than one U.S. representative. Congress abolished the practice in 1842, however, and today all congressional districts are single-member districts.

At-large elections are common at the local level, such as for city council seats. Within each state there are districts, wards, and precincts for election and voting purposes. Except for Nebraska, which has a unicameral legislature, each state has a senate and a house of representatives (or its equivalent, such as the Assembly in California, the House of Delegates in Virginia, and the General Assembly in New Jersey). For the election of almost 2,000 state senators and more than 5,400 representatives, the states are divided into districts much like congressional districts, only smaller. Under the Supreme Court's Baker v. Carr ruling in 1962, both houses of a state legislature must be apportioned [Page p10]according to population. In many states the house is twice as large as the senate, and a senate district may comprise two house districts. Unlike Congress, some state legislatures still have multimember districts.

City council districts are often known as wards. Frequently a city council will be made up of some members elected at-large and others elected by the ward he or she represents.

Racial and ethnic minorities tend to oppose at-large election because it makes them less likely to gain representation in the legislative body in question. A majority-minority district, for example, is likely to elect a member of the minority making up the majority if the voting is limited to district residents. But if the election is at-large, the minority's strength in a particular area is diluted by the votes of persons living outside the area.