Asked how many members of the House of Reps there were, Stein guessed 600

“Asked how many members of the House of Reps there were, Stein guessed 600-some before hosts corrected her.”

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
    0·
    2 months ago

    It’s actually a harder question than it seems… If you’re asking about the number of seats, that’s easy. 435 in the House, 100 in the Senate.

    But if you ask about the PEOPLE, suddenly a lot harder due to deaths, resignations, and vacancies.

    I legit couldn’t tell you the number of people right now without looking it up and I’d like to think I’m pretty plugged in.

    https://clerk.house.gov/Members/ViewVacancies

    • Rekhyt@lemmy.world
      0·
      2 months ago

      I don’t think anyone would fault you for saying there are 435 members of the house, especially because that number is also wrong (there are six additional non-voting members).

      If she had answered more correctly than the number of voting seats I wouldn’t have a problem with it…

    • geekwithsoul@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      0·
      2 months ago

      I think you’re overthinking it. This was the actual reported exchange:

      Later in the interview, Rye attempted to demonstrate the Green Party’s failure to build power from a grassroots level. She asked Stein how many members of the House of Representatives there were.

      “How many total are there? What is it, 600, some number?” Stein said, before Rye set the record straight.