Theoffice lottery for theUnited States House of Representatives determines the order in which incoming representatives can choose rooms in thecongressional office buildings. The lottery takes place every two years followingelections to that chamber and does not take place for theUnited States Senate. The draw is generally merry, with members dancing and bringing favorite possessions for luck.
The office lottery began in January 1908, when aHouse page picked numbered marbles to assign rooms in the newly-constructedCannon House Office Building. Before the Cannon Building was built, members had to rent their own offices in theDistrict of Columbia.[1]
In 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the lottery took place with allocations by algorithm and members watching onMicrosoft Teams.[2] In 2022, the draw returned to its face-to-face format.[3]
As of 2022[update], the lottery takes place at the Cannon building,[4] though it has also taken place at theRayburn building.[2] Numbered buttons are drawn from a wooden box, giving the order in which members can make selections. Representatives can send staffers in their stead; if nobody is present for a particular congressperson, they pick last.[5] Some representatives and members of their staff prepare for the lottery by ranking possible choices, as they only have five minutes to choose afterwards;[4] those decisions have been called "a slower, less exciting version of theNBA draft".[5]
While the rooms in the Rayburn building generally rank highest in members' preferences due to thesubway link, it is rare that new representatives are able to take offices there. In addition to the Cannon and Rayburn buildings, lawmakers can choose from offices in theLongworth building.[4] TheEvansville Courier & Press has called having a bad location the "congressional equivalent of being sent toSiberia";[6] though an official from theArchitect of the Capitol has said that the best office is "the one you've been elected for. There is no bad office onthe Hill".[5]
In addition to location, considerations for office space have included whether there is present construction,[5] how allergy-friendly it is,[3] and the view, thoughTed Yoho chose a room to be "up high and away from everybody".[7]Jim Hagedorn chosehis father's old room as tribute to him;[8] others may choose rooms that belonged to historical figures likeJohn F. Kennedy:[9] for instance,Katie Hill swapped offices withAyanna Pressley to allow Pressley to haveShirley Chisholm's old office.[10]
The drawing is typically a theatrical event, where the crowd sympathizes with fortunate and unfortunate members, though members have subverted those emotions for comical effect, such as byAaron Bean, who high-fived others after drawing 68th out of 73.[5]
Instead of a lottery, the Senate assigns offices to new senators based onits seniority system.[5]
The organizers of the lottery hold that dances increase the chance of a low number,[11] whileBloomberg observed in 2022 that a congressmember's name being mispronounced seemed to help their chances.[4]
Prior to drawing, representatives and their staffers have performed rituals like playing a song byFrank Sinatra,[4] rubbing a bald head, or doing push-ups.[8]Steve Knight joked that he had done aJedi mind trick to get the first pick in 2014,[12] while 2010 lottery winnerCory Gardner said he had "practiced pulling tissues out of the box" and had pulled "20 to 25 until [he] decided that [his] form was good".[13]
Members have also brought lucky charms, such asAbigail Spanberger's scarf with designs of thefemale candidates that year,[14] quartz, or lucky jeans.[8]
