Congressional bills threaten equal representation, census accuracy

Fair representation in Congress is under attack.

Several bills aim to limit the population used for allotting the 435 congressional districts among the states. Companion legislation would also require that a citizenship question be asked of all persons responding to the 2030 census. The result would be the drawing of House lines based on the number of citizens, rather than on all persons which has been the process since the Civil War era. The 14th Amendment’s mandate to apportion congressional districts among the 50 states based on the total number of people living here was a specific repudiation of the infamous Dred Scott decision which state that former slaves were not citizens.

These current efforts threaten equal representation, and census accuracy for Long Island, New York and the nation.

Much is at stake for New Yorkers. In the 2020 census, New York state’s count fell short of an additional congressional seat by just 89 people — about the number of riders in a rush-hour subway car. Congressional bills that fail to count all residents will make it even harder for New York to get its fair share of districts because the failure to include all persons will dilute the state’s census count, lowering the state’s population.

Most likely, that would mean the boundaries of Long Island’s four districts would shift west, likely moving more of the primarily Suffolk districts into Nassau while the two Nassau districts could stretch into Queens, diluting a suburban constituency.

According to the Center for Migration studies and others, an estimated half-million or more persons live illegally in New York State. Newsday recently reported that Nassau and Suffolk counties are now home to an estimated 111,900 persons living here illegally.
It was certainly disheartening to hear Rep. Nick LaLota say that the congressional legislation was “about restoring fairness — only American citizens should determine American representation.” That’s not in Long Island’s or the nation’s best interest.

Adding a citizenship question to the census would have a negative effect on its accuracy. We already know from the fight over a citizenship question before the 2020 census that the question would depress census response rates: Many people don’t want to answer questions from the government about their backgrounds and families, especially more in this time of ICE raids and deportations.

Does this all sound familiar? The first Trump administration tried to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census form but failed after a U.S. Supreme Court decision faulted the government on the process through which the question was added. It tried to rush the question onto the census form. However, the Court did not rule against asking a citizenship question itself.

Many see this effort alongside the attempt to redraw congressional districts at mid-decade as nothing more than partisan attempts to maintain control of the House. The effort now underway in Texas to redraw congressional districts is apparently being done at the behest of President Donald Trump who wants five new GOP districts drawn there to strengthen the GOP’s majority. New York and California now threaten to retailiate in kind. Redistricting is based on “one person, one vote” population equality and need only take place once a decade.

The Congress would be better off focusing on providing adequate resources for a complete and accurate census count. That’s what really matters.

This guest essay reflects the views of Jeffrey M. Wice, a professor at New York Law School and director of the N.Y. Elections, Census & Redistricting Institute.