Minnesota Has 'Most Powerful' U.S. House Voters: Here's Why

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota has the most voting power in the U.S. House elections this fall, according to a report published Thursday.

A WalletHub study calculated the ratio between elected representatives in federal government to each state's current population.

Minnesota has the highest vote poweing for the House elections this fall, the study found.

1. — Minnesota: 3.64 'vote power' score

2. — Alaska: 3.61 'vote power' score

3. — Maine: 3.57 'vote power' score

4. — Colorado: 3.50 'vote power' score

5. — North Carolina: 3.39 'vote power' score

Why is voting power not evenly distributed across the county? The answer: All votes are not created equal under the United States' system of government, as its current constructed.

California's population is about seven times greater than Minnesota's population, and about 68 times bigger than Wyoming's population.

However, each state is awarded the same number of seats in the U.S. Senate.

And even though the House of Representatives apportions its seats by population, each state's votes are still not equal there, either.

The U.S. House of Representatives cannot have more than 435 members, and each state must have at least one seat regardless of population.

That's due not to the Constitution, but to the 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act.

The nation's population has grown significantly since 1929, but still, only 435 seats can be distributed across the 50 states.

As a result, each representative's district can vary in population size.

For example, Rep. Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota represents about 667,000 people, while Nancy Pelosi of California represents about 718,000 people.

"The ratios for individual states vary considerably, mainly because of the House’s fixed size and the Constitution’s requirement that each state, no matter its population, have at least one representative," Pew Research noted in 2018.

"Montana’s 1,050,493 people have just one House member; Rhode Island has slightly more people (1,059,639), but that’s enough to give it two representatives – one for every 529,820 Rhode Islanders."

Also read: 2020 U.S. Census Upset: MN Beats New York For 435th Seat

Those figures have changed in the 2020 Census, which greatly benefited Minnesota's power in the U.S. House.

Read more at WalletHub.