Ask your state legislators to ratify Article the First
In 1789, the very first amendment Congress sent to the states was about the size of the House of Representatives. Eleven states ratified it. It fell one state short, and it was never finished. Because Congress gave it no deadline, state legislatures can still ratify it today.
Ratifying it wouldn’t, by itself, shrink congressional districts. Its 1789 wording doesn’t require that. What it would do is force the question into the open. A ratification vote is a recorded vote: every state legislator who votes on it goes on record about how the people should be represented.
Today one member of Congress speaks for about 760,000 people. The founders started at about 30,000. A House of 435 won’t vote to change itself. Change starts when enough citizens ask for it, and state legislatures are where we can ask now.
Why now
A resolution in Congress, H.J.Res. 186, would try to end Article the First for good unless it is ratified by December 31, 2026. Whether Congress can put a deadline on an amendment already sent to the states is an open legal question. But the message is clear: if we want this question in front of the country, now is the time to ask. (See the Tracker for the bill’s status.)
Three steps, about ten minutes
1. Find your two state legislators. Enter your address at the free lookup below. Most states have two: one in the state senate and one in the state house or assembly.
→ Find my state legislators (Plural Policy, opens in a new tab)
2. Send them the letter below. Email works; a mailed letter gets even more attention. Add one or two sentences in your own words. Offices pay far more attention to a constituent who writes personally than to a stack of identical letters.
3. Tell us you sent it. We keep a running count by state on the Tracker, so legislators and other citizens can see the momentum. We publish counts only, never names.
Has your state already ratified it?
These eleven states ratified Article the First between 1789 and 1792. If you live in one of them, use Letter B: it asks your legislature to reaffirm its ratification and urge the other states to join. Everyone else, use Letter A.
| State | Year ratified |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | 1789 |
| Maryland | 1789 |
| North Carolina | 1789 |
| South Carolina | 1790 |
| New Hampshire | 1790 |
| New York | 1790 |
| Rhode Island | 1790 |
| Pennsylvania | 1791 |
| Virginia | 1791 |
| Vermont | 1791 |
| Kentucky | 1792 |
Letter A: for the 39 states that have not ratified
[Date]
The Honorable [Legislator’s name]
[Office address or email]
Dear [Senator / Representative / Assembly Member] [Last name]:
I am a constituent in your district, and I am writing to ask you to introduce or support a joint resolution ratifying the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, known as Article the First.
Article the First was the first of the twelve amendments Congress sent to the states on September 25, 1789. Ten of the others became the Bill of Rights. Article the First, which sets rules for the size of the House of Representatives, was ratified by eleven states and fell one state short. Congress set no deadline, so it is still before the states today.
When the Constitution was adopted, each member of the House represented about 30,000 people. Today each member represents about 760,000. The House has been fixed at 435 seats since 1911, and it is not going to vote to change itself. The states are where this question can be raised.
I understand that the 1789 wording would not, by itself, change the size of today’s House. That is not why I am asking. A ratification vote would put the question of representation in front of every legislature in the country, and on the record. I believe that conversation is long overdue.
There is also a reason to act soon. A resolution now in Congress, H.J.Res. 186, would try to end Article the First unless it is ratified by December 31, 2026.
[One or two sentences in your own words: why this matters to you.]
Would you let me know where you stand on ratifying Article the First? Thank you for your time and for your service to our district.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Street address, city, ZIP]
[Email or phone]
Then paste it into an email or a document, fill in the brackets, and add your own words.
Letter B: for the eleven states that ratified in 1789–1792
[Date]
The Honorable [Legislator’s name]
[Office address or email]
Dear [Senator / Representative / Assembly Member] [Last name]:
I am a constituent in your district, and I am writing about a piece of our state’s history that is still unfinished.
In [year], [State] ratified Article the First, the first of the twelve amendments Congress sent to the states in 1789. Ten of the others became the Bill of Rights. Article the First, which sets rules for the size of the House of Representatives, fell one state short. Congress set no deadline, so it is still before the states today.
I am asking you to introduce or support a resolution in which our legislature reaffirms its ratification and calls on the other states to complete it.
When the Constitution was adopted, each member of the House represented about 30,000 people. Today each represents about 760,000. The House has been fixed at 435 seats since 1911, and it is not going to vote to change itself. I understand the 1789 wording would not, by itself, change the size of today’s House. But a renewed call from a state that ratified it at the founding would put the question of representation back in front of the country.
There is also a reason to act soon. A resolution now in Congress, H.J.Res. 186, would try to end Article the First unless it is ratified by December 31, 2026.
[One or two sentences in your own words: why this matters to you.]
Would you let me know where you stand? Thank you for your time and for your service to our district.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Street address, city, ZIP]
[Email or phone]
Then paste it into an email or a document, fill in the brackets, and add your own words.
Tell us you sent it
Takes thirty seconds. We publish only totals by state, never names.
Questions
Will one letter really matter? State legislators represent far fewer people than members of Congress, often a few tens of thousands. A handful of personal letters on the same subject is enough for an office to notice. That is the whole argument of this site in miniature: the closer the representative, the more your voice counts.
Is this partisan? No. Article the First was proposed by the First Congress and ratified by states from New England to the South. How many people each representative answers to is not a left or right question.
Would ratifying it give us districts of 50,000? Not by itself. Its final wording limits the House to no more than one member per 50,000 people; it doesn’t require that many. See the FAQ for the full story. The point of ratifying is to put the question to every legislature and every legislator, on the record.
Does this cost anything? No. We’re asking for your time and your voice, not your money.