Two voters in Delaware have filed a lawsuit against US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seeking an additional seat for their state in the House of Representatives.
The plaintiffs, University of Delaware professor David Redlawsk and resident Kevin Price, argued in a suit filed on Tuesday that Delaware has inadequate representation in Congress, with only one at-large representative serving its population of approximately 991,000.
They contend that the state’s representation ratio is lower than that of any other state, pointing out that Montana, with a population of slightly below 1.1 million, has two seats in the House.
“The 435-seat limitation imposes a severe and avoidable disparity on Delaware’s voters,” their lawsuit says, adding that “Plaintiffs suffer a concrete and particularized injury from the dilution of their representation in the House.”
The two voters are asking a three-judge panel of the US District Court for the District of Columbia to rule that the 435-member limit established under the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 is unconstitutional.
They also want the court to allocate an additional seat to Delaware, increasing the total membership of the House from 435 to 436.
Lutnick was named in the case because the Commerce Department supervises the Census Bureau, which conducts the population count every 10 years used to determine how House seats are distributed among states.
Other defendants include Commerce Deputy Under Secretary George Cook, who is currently performing the duties of the Census Bureau director, and House Clerk Kevin McCumber.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Andrew Tutt, argued that the country’s population has continued to increase while the number of seats in the House has remained unchanged.
He noted that the 2020 census allocated the existing seats among more than 331 million Americans, representing over three-and-a-half times the 92 million people recorded in the 1910 census, before the size of the House was fixed in 1911.
According to Tutt, the arrangement has left Delaware’s 990,837 residents with just one representative.
Redlawsk and Price want the court to approve the additional seat ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Under their proposal, Delaware would have two representatives for its 990,837 residents, translating to an average of approximately 495,419 people per lawmaker.
“Delaware would have two Representatives for its 990,837 people, an average of approximately 495,419 people per Representative,” the lawsuit says. “The House would have 436 Members. The remedy would give Delaware’s voters the additional representation their population requires and leave the allocations of the other 49 States intact.”
The plaintiffs further asked the court to direct an increase in the House’s membership to 436 if Congress fails to implement the proposed adjustment.
