New Hampshire House of Representatives

lower house of U.S. state legislature

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court. It has 400 members from 204 legislative districts from all over the state. These were made from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300 residents. That is the largest lower house representative-to-population ratio in the country.

New Hampshire
House of Representatives
New Hampshire General Court
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
December 7, 2022
Leadership
Speaker
Sherman Packard (R)
since January 6, 2021
Speaker pro tempore
Laurie Sanborn (R)
since December 7, 2022
Majority Leader
Jason Osborne (R)
since December 2, 2020
Minority Leader
Matthew Wilhelm (D)
since December 7, 2022
Structure
Seats400
Political groups
Majority
  •   Republican (199)

Minority

Vacant (3)[1]
Length of term
2 years
AuthorityPart Second, New Hampshire Constitution
Salary$200/term, plus daily travel
Elections
Plurality at-large voting
Last election
November 8, 2022
Next election
November 5, 2024
RedistrictingLegislative control
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber
New Hampshire State House
Concord, New Hampshire
Website
www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house

New Hampshire has the biggest lower house of any U.S. state. The second-biggest, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, has 203 members. The House is the fourth-biggest lower house in the English-speaking world (the first three are the 435-member United States House of Representatives, 543-member Lok Sabha of India, and 650-member House of Commons of the United Kingdom).[2]

Districts have different seat amounts based on their populations. In districts that elect more than one member, voters are allowed to vote for as many people as there are seats to be filled. This system of plurality block voting often ends in one party winning all of the seats in the district.

The House of Representatives has been in Representatives Hall of the New Hampshire State House since 1819. Representatives Hall is the oldest chamber in the United States still being used by a government.[3]

References

change
  1. "The General Court of New Hampshire | 404" (PDF). www.gencourt.state.nh.us. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  2. Ross, Elizabeth (March 21, 1994). "Bigger Is Sometimes Better For Largest US Legislature". Christian Science Monitor.
  3. "New Hampshire House of Representatives "NH House Facts"". Archived from the original on June 18, 2007.