The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, comprises the legislature of the United States.
The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The House is comprised of representatives who sit in congressional districts which are allocated to each of the several states on a basis of population as measured by the U.S. Census, with each state entitled one representative.
Since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435. As of the 2010 Census, the largest delegation is that of California, with fifty-three representatives; the smallest is shared by seven states: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming, each with a single representative.
