How does the census affect members of the House of Representatives?

Answer 1

Well, it affects the House of Representatives, because if the population in a certain are grows, the more House of Representatives there is going to be, because the House of Representatives is based on population.

Answer 2

Well, it affects the House of Representatives, because if the population in a certain are grows, the more House of Representatives there is going to be, because the House of Representatives is based on population.

Answer 3

The number of representative in the U.S. House of Representatives is fixed at 435. Every 10 years the U.S. Census Bureau takes a census of the population in each state. The 435 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives is then reapportioned among the 50 states based on the population in each state.

Answer 4

The size of the US House of Representatives is fixed by law at 435 members. In order to maintain some semblance of the "one man, one vote, and everybody's vote is of equal value" principle, each congressional district must include APPROXIMATELY the same number of residents.

But babies are born, people die, and most importantly, people MOVE. When one area of the country gains population and another area loses it (or gains a smaller percentage) the size of each congressional district must be adjusted. That's where the decennial census comes in. The census is mandated by the Constitution, and has been done every 10 years since 1790.

Some states, like Texas, have gained people. Immigrants from Mexico arrive, out-of-work Michiganders move to jobs that are available in Texas, and companies fleeing high-tax states like California, Massachusetts or New York set up shop in Nevada or Texas. Nevada or Texas has more people. People retire and move to Florida; Florida gains people.

Michigan actually LOST people; the collapse of the Detroit car-manufacturing business cost thousands of jobs. Michigan weather is brutal, and people leave, going to Florida and Texas.

So after the 2010 Census, Texas is gaining 4 representatives and Florida is gaining 2, while Michigan is losing one, and New York and Ohio are each losing two. TEN districts had to be reallocated after the 2010 Census; see the link below for the details.

The process of re-drawing the district lines is called "re-districting", and is managed somewhat differently in every State. Depending on who draws the boundaries, this can have substantial impacts in the composition of the state Legislatures, and in the US Congress. For example, Republicans now control a majority of the state legislatures after the 2010 election, and can draw the districts to their own advantage. (Democrats have traditionally done the same when they were in charge, as each side tries to maximize its gains.) In California, a quasi-independent redistricting commission will draw the new legislative boundaries for the 2012 elections, possibly reducing the electoral advantage held by the Dems in the California Assembly.

Answer 5

How many members of the House each state gets is determined by the population of that state. The greater the population, the more reps.

Answer 6

The number of representatives in each state depends on the population