| West Virginia House Of Delegates |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES | |
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MEMBERSHIP The House is composed of 100 members elected for two year terms and is currently controlled by Democrats by a 68-32 margin. In the 2004 election, 18 women were elected to the House, two less than in 2002 . Female delegates hold a greater proportion of seats in the House than do female senators in the West Virginia Senate . However, as the Census Bureau reports that females account for more than half of West Virginia's residents, women are greatly underrepresented in the House. The districting system divides the state into 58 districts that elect a varying number of members. The majority of districts, 35, are single-member districts. The rest elect multiple members, anywhere from two to seven (the 30th District in Kanawha County ). Many districts are Gerrymandered in such a way as to preserve the status quo. Republicans have called for 100 single-member districts, with the districts representing compact areas of common interests. SPEAKER The Speaker of the House is selected by its members. In contrast to the tradition of the Speaker of the United States House Of Representatives , the Speaker must vote unless excused. The House rules state that in some cases, he or she is not required to vote unless the House is equally divided, or unless his vote, if given to the minority, will make the division equal. In the latter case, the question is lost. As of the 1st Session of the 77th Legislature, Robert S. Kiss served as Speaker of the House, a position he has held since January 1997 (73rd Legislature). He is the 54th Speaker of the House of Delegates. Kiss (D-Raleigh Co.) announced in his 2004 re-election campaign that he would not be seeking a tenth term and would retire as speaker in 2006. EXTERNAL LINKS AND REFERENCES
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