CALIFORNIA—The state of California will lose a congressional seat, the United States Census Bureau said in a press release on Monday, April 26.
According to The Hill, this is the first time that the state will lose a seat in its history. The last time California gained a seat was in 2000, where it gained one seat.
Years where California did not gain nor lose any seats was in 1920 and 2010, according to the Census Bureau’s website. The most seats that the state ever gained was in 1930, where it gained 9 congressional seats.
In 1920, California had 11 representatives. Now, California has 53 representatives; 11 Republicans and 42 Democrats. Members of the CA delegation include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Aside from California, other states that lost seats are Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, as well as New York, where it lost only one seat in the House by 89 residents, according to census data (NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a news release that he is considering legal action).
According to the U.S. Census, California remains the most populous state in the nation with 39,587,223 people, nearly 40 million residents. Wyoming is the least populous state (at 576,851 residents) with only one House seat, belonging to Congresswoman and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney.
The U.S. Census also reveals that the “state that gained the most numerically since the last census in 2010 was Texas” from 3,999,944 to 29,145,505, a 25,145,561 increase. Utah was the “fastest-growing state” since the 2010 Census by 18.4 percent.
It also revealed that Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, lost residents by 11.8 percent. Its population in 2010 was 3,725,789. Now, it stands at 3,285,874.
America’s population increased by 22,703,743 people (or 7.4 percent). The country’s population in 2010 was 308,745,538. The population now stands at 331,449,281.
The U.S. Census Bureau said in a news release that “upon receipt of the apportionment counts, the president will transmit them to the 117th Congress. The reapportioned Congress will be the 118th, which convenes in January 2023.”
In addition, Ron Jarmin, Census Bureau Director, said that the bureau will “begin the additional activities needed to create and deliver the redistricting data that were previously delayed due to COVID-19,” according to the press release.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said “despite many challenges, our nation completed a census for the 24th time” and called it “fundamental to our democracy and a declaration of our growth and resilience.”
It is mandated under Article 1 Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution that there shall be a census of the entire population every decade, which determines how many congressional seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives. The last census took place in 2010.
