At-large Information
At-large is a designation for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body (for example, a city, state or province, nation, club or association), rather than a subset of that membership. At-large voting is in contrast to voting by electoral districts.
If an at-large election is called to choose a single candidate, a single-winner voting system must necessarily be used. If a group of seats must be covered, many electoral systems can be possible, from proportional representation methods (such as PR-STV) to block voting.
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Canada
A number of municipalities in Canada elect part or all of their city councils at-large. Although this form of municipal election is most common in small towns due to the difficulty of dividing the municipality into wards, several larger cities use an at-large system as well:
- North Bay, Ontario (all councillors at-large)
- Portage la Prairie, Manitoba (all councillors at-large)
- St. Albert, Alberta (all councillors at-large)
- Thunder Bay, Ontario (seven councillors elected to wards, five councillors elected at-large)
- Timmins, Ontario (four rural wards with one councillor each, one urban ward with four at-large councillors)
- Vancouver, British Columbia (all councillors at-large).
- Most of British Columbia's major cities, including Victoria, Surrey and Richmond use this system (all councillors at-large).
At the federal level, Canada's three territories, Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are each represented in the Parliament of Canada by one at-large Member of Parliament and one at-large Senator. However, all Canadian provinces, regardless of size, are divided into multiple electoral districts.
Israel
Main article: Elections in IsraelIn Israel, elections for the Knesset (the national parliament) are conducted on an at-large basis by proportional representation from party lists.
Philippines
Main article: Elections in the PhilippinesIn Philippine politics, "at-large" usually refers to the manner of election of the Senate: the voters have twelve votes, with the country acting as one at-large "district", the twelve candidates with the most number of votes are elected (plurality-at-large voting).
Provinces that send only one representative to the House of Representatives are called "lone districts". All local legislatures elect member via at-large districts via plurality-at-large voting. Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council), Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay (village) Council), Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Councils) and some Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Councils) all elect members with each local government unit acting as one at-large district. Some City Councils and all Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) members are elected with the city or province being split into as much as seven districts, then each district elects at least two members, at-large.
United States
States with only one at-large seat
In the case of the United States House of Representatives, an at-large representative is one who is elected to represent an entire state either as the sole representative of that state, or as one member elected from the entire state when the same state had geographically defined districts as well.
States with both at-large seats and geographically defined districts
This is a table of every instance of at-large representation in the United States Congress when the same state had geographically defined districts as well.
| Congress | State & Number of at-large seats |
|---|---|
| 33rd | MS (1) |
| … | … |
| 38th | IL (1) |
| 39th | IL (1) |
| 40th | IL (1) |
| 41st | IL (1) |
| 42nd | IL (1) |
| 43rd | AL (2), AR (1), IN (2), LA (1), NY (1), PA (3), SC (1), TN (1), TX (2) |
| 44th | AL (2) |
| … | … |
| 48th | AR (1), CA (2), GA (1), KS (4), NY (1), NC (1), PA (1), VA (1) |
| 49th | PA (1) |
| 50th | PA (1) |
| … | … |
| 53rd | IL (2), KS (1), PA (2) |
| 54th | KS (1), PA (2) |
| 55th | KS (1), PA (2) |
| 56th | KS (1), PA (2) |
| 57th | KS (1), PA (2) |
| 58th | CO (1), CT (1), KS (1) |
| 59th | CO (1), CT (1), KS (1) |
| 60th | CO (1), CT (1) |
| 61st | CO (1), CT (1)) |
| 62nd | CO (1), CT (1) |
| 63rd | AL (1), CO (2), FL (1), IL (2), MI (1), MN (1), OH (1), OK (3), PA (4), TX (2), WA (2), WV (1) |
| 64th | AL (1), IL (2), PA (4), TX (2), WV (1) |
| 65th | IL (2), PA (4), TX (2) |
| 66th | IL (2), PA (4) |
| 67th | IL (2), PA (4) |
| 68th | IL (2) |
| 69th | IL (2) |
| 70th | IL (2) |
| 71st | IL (2) |
| 72nd | IL (2) |
| 73rd | CT (1), FL (1), IL (2), NY (2), OH (2), OK (1), TX (3) |
| 74th | CT (1), FL (1), IL (2), NY (2), OH (2), OK (1) |
| 75th | CT (1), IL (2), NY (2), OH (2), OK (1) |
| 76th | CT (1), IL (2), NY (2), OH (2), OK (1) |
| 77th | CT (1), IL (2), NY (2), OH (2), OK (1) |
| 78th | CT (1), FL (1), IL (2), NY (2), OH (1), PA (1) |
| 79th | CT (1), IL (2), OH (1) |
| 80th | CT (1), IL (2), OH (1) |
| 81st | CT (1), OH (1) |
| 82nd | CT (1), OH (1) |
| 83rd | CT (1), TX (1), WA (1) |
| 84th | CT (1), TX (1), WA (1) |
| 85th | CT (1), TX (1), WA (1) |
| 86th | CT (1) |
| 87th | CT (1) |
| 88th | CT (1), MD (1), MI (1), OH (1), TX (1) |
| 89th | MD (1), OH (1), TX (1) |
See also
Sources
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
External links
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Alternative forms
Adjective at large (not comparable)- (idiomatic) On the loose; roaming freely; not confined.
- For a nervous twenty-four hours, three wanted criminals were at large in the city.
- The ambassador-at-large was designated to the Middle East as a region, rather than to a specific country.
- (obsolete) In full, fully.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, vol. I, New York 2001, p. 236:
- The like example I find in Lælius à Fonte Eugubinus, consult. 129 [...]. Read in him the story at large.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, vol. I, New York 2001, p. 236:
- In general; as a whole.
- Some people support the measure, but the community at large will probably be against it.