Other states such as Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon won a seat. Texas will add two representatives
Photo: Aubrey Gemignani / Getty Images
Sunday, September 29
California to lose a representative in the Lower House for the first time, according to census data
California will lose a seat in the House of Representatives for the first time in state history , as indicated by the data that the United States Census Bureau released this Monday. Other states such as Texas and Florida will see their representation increased due to the increase in the population registered in both states.
The figures from the census, which is carried out every ten years, are crucial for get a more realistic map of the demographics and political geography of the country and indicate, among other things, what assignment each territory should have in the United States House of Representatives.
The pandemic of COVID – 19 caused the census results to be delayed by a few months . The campaign for all the people of the country to answer the questions was interrupted by the closures and the recommendations to avoid contacts with other people. And not all the data is there yet. Missing those that allow establishing the boundaries of electoral districts, which will be known next fall.
These delays could affect the midterm elections of 2022 in which the Democrats – led by the Speaker of the Lower House, Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco – will do everything possible to prevent Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy from Bakersfield from taking control of the camera.
Also California, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia lost a representative in the US Congress. Those who won one were Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon. Texas proved to be the fastest growing state and will add two seats to the House of Representatives.
The 30 September, the census bureau will send what is known as block data, the smallest geographic area that details the count and which can range from the size of a block in the most populous cities to hundreds of square miles in rural areas. This data will be known six months later than normal, which will mean that California may not have the finalized maps until next February , months before the midterm elections.
The census is the method that the constitution designates to distribute the seats in the House of Representatives and that since 1200 has been permanently limited to 435 districts . Each state is guaranteed at least one representative and the size of each delegation is based on population.
The term of 2020 was under the media spotlight due to what was seen as an attack by then-President Donald Trump on undocumented immigrants. The Republican wanted to introduce a question about immigration status for the first time, but a proposal that the Supreme Court blocked and the current president Joe Biden assured that these immigrants will also be counted .
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