Two Delaware voters have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to increase their state's representation in Congress by adding a second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The suit, filed Tuesday, names Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other federal officials, arguing that the current 435-member limit unfairly dilutes the voting power of Delaware residents.

The plaintiffs are University of Delaware professor David Redlawsk and state resident Kevin Price. Delaware has approximately 991,000 residents but only one at-large representative, giving it the lowest level of House representation per person of any state, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs contrast Delaware's representation with Montana, which has just under 1.1 million residents and two House seats. They argue that the difference demonstrates how the fixed size of the House has created unequal representation as the nation's population has grown.

"The 435-seat limitation imposes a severe and avoidable disparity on Delaware's voters," the lawsuit states, arguing that the plaintiffs have suffered a specific injury through the dilution of their representation.

The lawsuit asks a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to declare the 435-seat limit established under the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 unconstitutional. The plaintiffs want the court to order the creation of an additional Delaware seat, increasing the House from 435 to 436 members while leaving the other states' allocations unchanged.

Their attorney, Andrew Tutt, argues that the country's population has expanded substantially while the statutory limit on House membership has remained fixed. The 2020 census counted more than 331 million Americans, compared with approximately 92 million in the 1910 census, before Congress established the current House size in 1911.

Delaware had 990,837 residents in the 2020 census but retained just one representative. Under the plaintiffs' proposal, the state would have two representatives, with each representing an average of approximately 495,419 residents.

Lutnick was named because the Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau, which conducts the population counts used to determine how House seats are distributed among the states. The lawsuit also names Commerce Deputy Under Secretary George Cook, who is performing the duties of Census Bureau director, and House Clerk Kevin McCumber.

The plaintiffs want the additional seat established in time for the 2028 presidential election. They also ask the court to order the House's membership increased to 436 if Congress does not act on their request. The Commerce Department and the House clerk had not immediately responded to requests for comment.