Congressional Apportionment
Adding Voting Members
The admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union as states in 1959 serves as the last example of the addition of new voting Members to the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress temporarily added one new Representative for each state in the 86th and 87th Congresses (1959–1963), bringing the total number of Representatives in the House to 437. In 1963, when the apportionment mandated by the 18th Census (1960) took effect, the total number of Representatives in the House returned to 435 for the 88th Congress (1963–1965).
The Meeting of Congress–Hall of Representatives, 1857, Harper’s Weekly, December 12, 1857.Hand-colored wood engraving, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
