Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives

Non-voting members of the United States House of Representatives (called either delegates or resident commissioner, in the case of Puerto Rico) are representatives of their territory in the House of Representatives, who do not have a right to vote on legislation in the full House but nevertheless have floor privileges and are able to participate in certain other House functions. Non-voting members may introduce legislation and may vote in a House committee of which they are a member.

There are six non-voting members: a delegate representing the District of Columbia, a resident commissioner representing Puerto Rico, and one delegate for each of the other four permanently inhabited U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A seventh delegate, representing the Cherokee Nation, has been formally proposed, while an eighth, representing the Choctaw Nation, which is named in the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek has neither been proposed nor seated. As with voting members, delegates are elected every two years, except the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico, who is elected every four years.

Privileges of delegates

Non-voting members serve exclusively in the House of Representatives; the Senate has no non-voting members (with the exception of the vice president of the United States, who may vote but only to break ties) and no members representing the territories or the District of Columbia. All delegates serve a term of two years, while resident commissioners serve a term of four years. They receive compensation, benefits, and franking privileges (the ability to send outgoing U.S. mail without a stamp) similar to full House members. The rules governing the rights of a non-voting member are set forth in the House Rules adopted in each congress (i.e., every two years). Since 1993, they have changed three times, giving delegates, along with the resident commissioner, privileges that they did not have previously.