8.2.1: Formal Representation

Geographic Representation

Formal representation refers to the rules and practices governing the selection of legislators. According to Pitkin’s framework, formal representation is successful when, first, representatives have gained their seats through a process of elections that is considered legitimate by most voters, and second, when voters can hold representatives accountable for their actions by being able to remove them from office in the next election (“Political Representation”). Table 8.2.1.1 provides a snapshot of the California State Legislature.

Table \(\PageIndex{1}\):The Organization of the Legislature

Chamber	State Assembly	State Senate
Number of Members	80	40
Length of Term	2	4
Term Limits	12 (total years in both chambers)	12 (total years in both chambers)

Our state legislature has always been bicameral. A bicameral Congress has an upper house and a lower house. Historically, bicameral legislatures developed in Europe, with the upper house representing the nobility and the lower house representing the common people. For example, the United Kingdom’s Parliament is composed of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The American colonies also developed a bicameral structure over time, with upper houses including representatives of the English government and lower houses representing free men. Upon independence in 1776, states developed legislatures following this colonial legacy, except upper houses represented geographic areas instead of the nobility. New states followed this bicameral division. In California, until 1967, forty state senators represented California geographically by county, with no senator representing less than one county or more than three. In Reynolds v. Sims (1964), the US Supreme Court ruled that this apportionment of Senate seats was unconstitutional because it gave disproportionate influence to rural over urban areas by violating the “one man, one vote” principle. Districts should, as closely as possible, have the same number of people. Ever since Reynolds, the forty state Senate districts are redrawn after every census along with the districts for the eighty members of the State Assembly.

One might argue that if both the California State Assembly and the State Senate are organized by population, what is the point of having a bicameral system? For example, in 1937, Nebraska voters were persuaded that bicameralism was wasteful and redundant and approved a unicameral system (Myers). On the other hand, perhaps redundancy leads to better deliberation. Although Nebraska’s unicameral experiment received some attention after the Reynolds decision, the other forty-nine states ultimately opted to maintain tradition over innovation.

As the lower house, the State Assembly is intended to respond to the people more closely by having two-year terms, whereas state senators have four-year terms with staggered elections such that only half are up for election every two years. Currently, state legislators are limited to twelve years of service in either or both houses combined. This term limit law was passed by Proposition 28 in 2012.