40 Senators

[Volokh, Eugene]

    I don't think we should take this sort of logic that far:  Even in a
body apportioned by population, such as the House, in theory
Representatives elected by only a titch over 25 percent of the
population (a titch over half the population in half the districts)
could block any legislation in Congress.  But of course the drama stems
from the lack of realism:  What are the chances that some agenda will
get 50.1% of the vote in 50% of the relevant subdivisions (whether House
districts or States), and 0% of the vote in the rest?
 
    Eugene
 
________________________________

From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu] On Behalf Of Heyman, Steve
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 3:33 PM
To: Steven Jamar; CONLAWPROFS professors
Subject: RE: 40 Senators



	If I'm reading the table right, then that 12 percent is the
total population of the smallest 20 states.  So then a majority of the
population of those states is more like 6 percent.  If that majority
were all to vote for the same party, and elect 40 Senators (which as
Steve Jamar notes isn't realistic), then Senators elected by only 6
percent of the population could block any legislation in Congress -- an
even more dramatic statistic.
	
	Steve
	
	Steven J. Heyman
	Professor of Law
	Chicago-Kent College of Law
	565 W. Adams Street
	Chicago, IL 60661
	(312) 906-5228
	sheyman at kentlaw.edu
	
	
	
	-----Original Message-----
	From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu on behalf of Steven
Jamar
	Sent: Wed 2/18/2009 5:12 PM
	To: CONLAWPROFS professors
	Subject: [POSSIBLE SPAM]  40 Senators
	
	
	
	12% of the population of the United States can stop any
legislation 
	from going forward in Congress.
	
	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population
	
	Even assuming wikipedia's numbers are off, they are probably
close 
	enough for this calculation.
	
	Of course not all of those states are represented by just one
party, 
	which makes the stat less meaningful in practice, but it is
still a 
	bit hard to consider the Senate a representative democratic body
with 
	that sort of population distortion.
	
	
	At the other end, 40% of the people live in 6 states -- or have
a 
	combined 12 senators -- and so are dramatically under
represented.
	
	The bargain made  in the original constitution for state power 
	checking federal power by the vehicle of the Senate seems more
than a 
	bit off target today.  And, the provision about the Senate 
	representation is functionally unamendable with effective unit
veto 
	provision.
	
	
	Steve
	--
	Prof. Steven D. Jamar                     vox:  202-806-8017
	Associate Director, Institute of Intellectual Property and
Social 
	Justice http://iipsj.org
	Howard University School of Law           fax:  202-806-8567
	http://iipsj.com/SDJ/
	
	
	"The most precious things one gets in life are not those one
gets for 
	money."
	
	Albert Einstein
	
	
	
	
	

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