Representation is More Than the Right to Vote

Governor Wes Moore recently participated in an unscripted conversation on the YouTube show “Surrounded,” produced by Jubilee media, where public figures answer questions from skeptical voters. One exchange raised an important – and often overlooked – question about representation in American democracy.

“How is my vote supposed to inform anything with a Representative that can’t hear me?” asked one audience member, in reference to votes being diluted due to the enormous size of modern congressional districts.

In response, Moore shifted the discussion toward the importance of the Voting Rights Act and Maryland’s efforts to protect voting rights. These are critically important issues, but they weren’t really what the question was about. The question was really about expanding the U.S. House of Representatives.

The exchange presented an opportunity to begin a conversation that deserves far more public attention, not only in Maryland, but nationwide.

That conversation would require something increasingly uncommon in politics, the willingness to reconsider ideas we may not have encountered before or that have previously gone largely unquestioned. Ralph Waldo Emerson explored this distinction in his essay, Self-Reliance, where he famously wrote: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Emerson wasn’t arguing that principles should change with the political winds. Rather, he was arguing that wise people should remain willing to reconsider old assumptions and be open to new ideas when circumstances change.

America has changed dramatically since Congress permanently capped the House at 435 members in 1929. The nation’s population has nearly tripled since then, greatly diluting the influence voters once had with their local representatives. Maryland’s eight representatives now serve roughly 800,000 people each. Even the hardest-working members of Congress can only attend so many town halls, answer so many constituent letters, or build meaningful relationships with so many constituents. This was the type of voter dilution the disenchanted audience member was asking about.

The distinction matters. The Voting Rights Act protects Americans from being denied equal access at the ballot box, and in light of several recent Supreme Court decisions, its enforcement deserves continued attention. But once Americans are able to cast their ballots, a different question remains: are there enough representatives for those diverse voices to be meaningfully heard in Congress?

That question is especially timely for Maryland voters. As the state considers mid-decade redistricting next month in response to shifting political and legal dynamics, Maryland will continue to face pressure from Democratic leaders to change the state constitution and redraw its own congressional map. But even a fair map – if one exists in today’s day and age – cannot solve the underlying problem of the need for better representation. In other words, mid-decade redistricting may change who represents constituents in Maryland, but expanding the House changes how well those constituents are ultimately represented.

Thinking differently about long-standing institutions is never easy. But it is something Governor Moore himself has openly emphasized in another context – his military service. One of the military’s most valuable practices is the after-action review – an honest assessment of what worked, what didn’t, and what could be improved next time. The goal is not to assign blame; it’s to learn and improve.

Our democratic institutions deserve the same treatment. The House of Representatives has had the same number of members for nearly a century, not because the Constitution requires it, but because that’s how many members it had at the time it was permanently capped. At the time, the cap may have seemed like a practical administrative decision. But nearly one hundred years later, it is fair to ask whether it is still serving its intended purpose.

Governor Moore has built much of his public life around the idea that leadership begins with listening. Listening, however, is only the beginning. Leadership also requires revisiting questions that may not have obvious answers and remaining open to ideas that initially seem unfamiliar.

That is the spirit that Emerson admired, and the one behind every successful after-action review.

Governor Moore deserves credit for showing up and participating in “Surrounded.” The next step is just as important: treating unexpected questions not as interruptions, but as opportunities to learn. As Maryland continues to debate how to draw its eight congressional districts, perhaps the more important question is why the state only has eight to begin with.

Rory Riley Topping is the volunteer outreach director for Project No Cap, a grassroots organization dedicated to uncapping the U.S. House of Representatives. She is also an attorney and co-author of the forthcoming book Draw the Line in Ohio: How One State’s Fight for Fair Maps Explains Gerrymandering in America.