A lower house is one of two
chambers
Chambers may refer to: Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
*Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County
*Chambers, Nebraska
*Chambers, West Virginia
*Chambers Township, Holt Coun ...
of a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature
A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority
In the fields of sociology
Sociology is the study of society, human social behaviour, patterns of social relationships, social interac ...
legislature
A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...
, the other chamber being the
upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise exert significant political influence. The lower house typically is the larger of the two chambers, meaning its members are more numerous.
Common attributes
In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics (though they vary per jurisdiction).
;Powers:
* In a
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system or parliamentary democracy is a system of democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
*A proponent of democracy
Democracy ( gr, δημοκρατία, ''dēmokratiā'', from ''dēmos'' 'people' an ...
, the lower house:
**In the modern era, has much more power, usually based on restrictions against the upper house.
**Is able to override the upper house in some ways.
**Can vote a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, vote of no confidence, or no confidence motion, sometimes in the reverse as a motion of confidence or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility (government, manage ...
against the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Departmen ...

, as well as vote for or against any proposed candidate for head of government at the beginning of the parliamentary term.
**Exceptions are
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where the Senate has considerable power approximate to that of the House of Representatives, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic ( it, Repubblica Italiana, links=no ), is a country consisting of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula delimited by the Alps and List of islands of Italy, several islands surrounding it, whose ...

and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country at the crossroads of Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions ...

, where the Senate has exactly the same powers as the Chamber of Deputies.
* In a
presidential system
A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government (President (government title), president) leads an Executive (government), executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in s ...
, the lower house:
** Debatably somewhat less, the lower house also has exclusive powers in some areas.
** Has the sole power to impeach the executive (the upper house then tries the
impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body
A legislature is an assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is a gathering of members (of any kind of collective) ...
).
** Typically initiates appropriation/supply-related legislation.
;Status of lower house:
* Always elected directly, while the upper house may be elected directly, indirectly, or not elected at all.
* Its members may be elected with a different voting system to the upper house.
* Most populated
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular ...

s are better represented than in the upper house; representation is usually
.
*
more frequently.
* Elected all at once, not by staggered terms.
* In a parliamentary system, can be dissolved by the executive.
* More members.
* Has total or initial control over budget, supply, and monetary laws.
* Lower
age of candidacy
Age of candidacy is the minimum age at which a person can legally qualify to hold certain elected government offices. In many cases, it also determines the age at which a person may be eligible to stand for an election or be granted ballot access
...
than the upper house.
The government of the day is usually required to present
its budget to the lower house, which must approve the budget. It is a widespread practice for revenue (appropriation) bills to originate in the lower house. A notable exception to this is the
West Virginia House of Delegates
The West Virginia
West Virginia () is a state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (news ...
, which allows revenue bills to originate from either house.
Titles of lower houses

Many lower houses are named in manners such as these:
*
Chamber of Deputies
The chamber of deputies is the lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers
Chambers may refer to: Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
*Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apach ...

*
Chamber of Representatives
*
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature
A legislature is an assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is a gathering of members (of any kind of collective) who ...
*
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies
A legislature is a deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is a gathering of members (of any kind of collective) who use parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is ...

*
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers
Chambers may refer to: Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
*Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporat ...

*
House of Delegates
*
Legislative Assembly
Legislative assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature
A legislature is an assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is a gathering of members (of ...
*
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral
In government, unicameralism (Latin , "one" and , "chamber") is the practice of having a single legislative or legislative chamber, parliamentary chamber. Thus, a ''unicameral parliam ...
See also
*
Representative democracy
Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected persons represent
Represent may refer to:
* Represent (Compton's Most Wanted album), ''Represent'' (Compton's Most Wanted album) or the title song, ...
References
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Legislatures