As nation grows, legislatures don't.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

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In 1938, there were 7,480 state legislators, representing about 131 million people. Since then, the nation's population has grown to more than 304 million. And during that same time, even with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii, the total number of legislators declined to 7,382 as some states reduced the size of their legislatures. In 1938, a senator represented an average of 72,176 people; today, the average is 154,330. A house member had, on...