Editorial Article

Is It a Flaw in the Constitution? Fifty Senators Represent Less Than 17% of Total U.S. Population

By Tarek Lucien Radjef.

The smallest state, Wyoming has 600,000 people. Kentucky is the 25th smallest with 4.5 million Kentuckians. The total population from 1-25 is 53 million. These states are listed at the bottom of the article. The total U.S. population, including territories is about 330 million.

Senators have equal power in their Chamber. This means that when Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California vote,representing 40 million peopleit can be nullified by Mike Enzi and Jim Barrasso of Wyoming who have a constituency of 600,000.

A look at the current Senate representation of the 25 small states yields 29 Republicans, 19 Democrats and two Independents. 

We can easily argue that fair representation in the U.S. Senate does not exist for the 277 million Americans who live in the 25 most populated states.

Amazingly enough, Texas has an extremely fair Senate districts allocation. There are 31 Senate Districts. The boundaries have been determined by grouping populations of approximately 811,000 (806K based on 2010 Census) per constituency, thus insuring that each Texan is equally represented by a State Senator.

The Constitution is unlikely to be changed in this century. I believe the DNC should develop a strategy specially targeted at small states to elect Democratic Senators. The numbers of votes needed to switch are much smaller than in bigger states like Texas.

Note: The 25 (smallest first with senators affiliation): WY(2R),VT(1D 1I), AK(2R), ND(2R), SD(2R), DE(2D), RI(2D), MT(1D 1R), ME(1R 1I), NH(2D), HI(2D), ID(2R), WV(1D 1R), NE(2R), NM(2D), KS(2R), MS(2R), AR(2R), NV(2D), IA(2R), UT(2R), CT(2D), OK(2R), OR(2D), KY(2R)