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The House

Non-Voting Members of Congress

The House has 6 members who cannot cast a final vote on legislation: 5 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. They debate, introduce bills and vote in committee — but not on passage.

Roster as of October 5, 2026 · Rules: House Rules, 119th Congress · Statutes: U.S. Code

Quick Answer

How many non-voting members?
6 — 5 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner, all in the House
Who they represent
Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands
Can they vote on bills?
Not on final passage. They vote in committee, and in the Committee of the Whole subject to a re-vote rule
Term length
Two years for Delegates; four years for Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner
Non-voting senators?
None. The Senate has 100 senators, two per state, and no territorial seats
Total House seats
441 — 435 voting, 6 non-voting

The six non-voting members

One for the District of Columbia, one for Puerto Rico, and one for each of four territories.

Their votes are not part of the House majority math. Party seat counts on this site — 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats today — count the 435 voting members only; see the party breakdown.

What non-voting members can and can’t do

The statutes give them a seat in the House “with the right of debate, but not of voting,” in the words of the District of Columbia’s law. The House’s own rules fill in the rest. Under Rule III, Delegates and the Resident Commissioner:

  • Serve on standing committees, elected to them the same way as Members, with the same powers there — including voting on amendments and on reporting bills.
  • Can be appointed to any select committee and to any conference committee.
  • Introduce bills, speak on the floor and take part in debate.
  • Vote in the Committee of the Whole, the form in which the House considers most amendments — with the safeguard described below.

What they cannot do is vote in the House itself — which is where final passage of every bill, and the election of the Speaker, take place.

Their current committee seats:

The Committee of the Whole and the re-vote rule

The Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union is the full House sitting under looser procedure, mostly to debate and amend bills. Rule III, clause 3 gives Delegates and the Resident Commissioner “the same powers and privileges as Members” there, so they vote on amendments alongside everyone else.

Rule XVIII, clause 6(h) keeps that from deciding anything on its own. When a recorded vote in the Committee of the Whole is decided “by a margin within which the votes cast by the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have been decisive,” the Committee rises and the Speaker puts the same question to the House again, where only the 435 Members vote. The non-voting members can add to a result, but never be the margin of it.

Terms and elections

Delegates serve two-year terms and are on the ballot every November of an even year, like Representatives. Puerto Rico is the exception: federal law sets the Resident Commissioner’s term at “four years from the 3d of January following such general election” — the only four-year term in the House. Pablo Jose Hernández’s term runs to January 3, 2029, so Puerto Rico’s next Resident Commissioner election is in 2028.

Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands elect their Delegates by majority vote; in Guam, if no candidate wins a majority, a runoff is held fourteen days after the general election.

When each seat was created

Each seat exists by an act of Congress, not by the Constitution, which apportions the House among the states only.

  1. 1900Puerto RicoResident Commissioner

    Elected at each general election to a term of "four years from the 3d of January following such general election" — the only four-year term in the House.

    Act of Apr. 12, 1900, ch. 191, § 39; current text from the act of Mar. 2, 1917 · 48 U.S.C. § 891

  2. 1970District of ColumbiaDelegate

    Has "a seat in the House of Representatives, with the right of debate, but not of voting" and is elected to serve during each Congress.

    Pub. L. 91–405, Sept. 22, 1970 · 2 U.S.C. § 25a

  3. 1972GuamDelegate

    Elected at large; if no candidate wins a majority, a runoff is held fourteen days after the general election (48 U.S.C. § 1712).

    Pub. L. 92–271, Apr. 10, 1972 · 48 U.S.C. § 1711

  4. 1972U.S. Virgin IslandsDelegate

    Created by the same 1972 act as Guam’s seat and elected at large by majority vote (48 U.S.C. § 1712).

    Pub. L. 92–271, Apr. 10, 1972 · 48 U.S.C. § 1711

  5. 1978American SamoaDelegate

    Represented "by a nonvoting Delegate to the House of Representatives" since the 1978 act.

    Pub. L. 95–556, Oct. 31, 1978 · 48 U.S.C. § 1731

  6. 2008Northern Mariana IslandsDelegate

    The newest seat: the Commonwealth’s Resident Representative became "a nonvoting Delegate to the House of Representatives" in 2008.

    Pub. L. 110–229, May 8, 2008 · 48 U.S.C. § 1751

Frequently Asked Questions

How many non-voting members are in Congress?

6, all in the House: 5 Delegates — from the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands — and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. The Senate has none.

Who are the non-voting members of Congress?

Pablo Jose Hernández (Puerto Rico), Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia), James C. Moylan (Guam), Stacey E. Plaskett (U.S. Virgin Islands), Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (American Samoa), Kimberlyn King-Hinds (Northern Mariana Islands).

Can delegates vote in Congress?

Not on final passage of legislation. Under the House rules they vote in the committees they serve on and in the Committee of the Whole, but if their votes there are decisive, the question is put again to the full House, where only the 435 Members vote.

Why does Washington, D.C. have no voting representative?

The Constitution apportions House seats and Senate seats among the states, and the District of Columbia is not a state. Its non-voting Delegate exists by statute: the current office was created in 1970 (Pub. L. 91–405).

How long is the Resident Commissioner’s term?

Four years — the only four-year term in the House. Federal law (48 U.S.C. § 891) sets it at four years from the January 3 after Puerto Rico’s general election. Delegates serve two-year terms.

Sources: Rules of the House of Representatives, 119th Congress (Rule III cl. 3; Rule XVIII cl. 6(h)); the statutes linked above.

Related Resources

All U.S. Representatives by State

The complete list of current House members with party, district, and term end date.

Party Breakdown of Congress

Current Senate and House seats by party — majority margins, Independents, and vacancies, from live data.

Why States Have Different Representative Counts

How House seats are distributed among states based on census population data.

Congressional Term Lengths Explained

House vs Senate term lengths, why they differ, and how Senate classes work.