California Would Lose Seats Under Census Change

[ccharles000]

A Republican senator’s proposal to count only United States citizens when reapportioning Congress would cost California five seats and New York and Illinois one each, according to an independent analysis of census data released Tuesday. Texas, which is projected to gain three seats after the 2010 census, would get only one.

The proposed change would spare Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania the expected loss of one seat each. Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina would each gain a seat.

If every resident — citizens and noncitizens alike — is counted in 2010, as the Census Bureau usually does, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah would gain one seat each and Texas would get three, the analysis found.

Losing one seat each would be Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the analysis of census data through 2008 by demographers at Queens College of the City University of New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/us/politics/28census.html?_r=3&src=twt&twt=nytimespolitics

[Hawkeye-X]

1. Any proposal by a Rethuglican senator

will die. Period.

They've had their chance to destroy the country for 40 years. It's time to end their power grab.

All the appropriate recording done, and will reveal what changes needs to be made.

[alarimer]

2. So legal residents (but not citizens) are not entitled to representation?

That has to be unconstitutional on the face of it. EVERYONE should be counted, legal or illegal, citizen or not.

[harkadog]

4. No they aren't entitled to representation and never have been

You have to be a citizen to vote and that is what determines representation. Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution leaves it to Congress to determine how the court will be made.

[DrToast]

5. Why would illegals be entitled to representation?

I might buy an argument that legal non-citizens should be counted, but I don't see why illegals should be counted.

[T Wolf]

3. Maybe they should count "non-citizens" as 3/5 of a person. That worked for the racists before.

You have to give the devils their due - they have managed to hold on to power far beyond what the population support for their policies would produce.

That is a tribute to their dishonesty, manipulation of the media, appeal to baser human instincts like racism and sexism and homophobia, and the vast wealth they have behind their campaigns.

Throw in the gullibility of the American population and you have rethug/corporate rule most of the time. With only brief, minor diversions when the Democrats manage to not totally fuck up.

[ShadowLiberal]

6. Too late to change it, that senator should have suggested 200+ years ago when we wrote the rules

That idiot senator should read the constitution, and realize that it states that anyone living there must be counted in the census, this is settled law, it doesn't matter if they're there illegally, they're supposed to be counted.