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It Isn’t One Citizen One Vote

When it comes to the House of Representatives, I’m a Constitutional scholar.  Specifically Article 1, Section 2 – “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.”

The lines highlighted in yellow govern the decennial Census and apportionment of Congresscritters.  Congresscritters are apportioned according to population – not according to the number of citizens a state has.  As you look at the data, you can see that one out of each seven people represented by a California Congresscritter isn’t a US Citizen. 

If Congress were to pass a law requiring seats in the House of Representatives be apportioned based on citizens instead of population, California would probably lose 5 seats, New York and Florida each 2, and New Jersey  and Illinois 1 each.  Somehow, I don’t think it will happen.

State demographics by citizenship status|
Citizenship status of residents, 2014

 State Total Population NativeForeign-born
Total
Foreign-born
Naturalized
Foreign-born
Non-citizen
Alabama4,817,6784,651,201166,47755,514110,963
 100.0%96.5%3.5%1.2%2.3%
Alaska728,300676,62051,68027,91023,770
 100.0%92.9%7.1%3.8%3.3%
Arizona6,561,5165,677,869883,647339,481544,166
 100.0%86.5%13.5%5.2%8.3%
Arkansas2,947,0362,811,266135,77040,38495,386
 100.0%95.4%4.6%1.4%3.2%
California38,066,92027,776,28410,290,6364,911,8995,378,737
 100.0%73.0%27.0%12.9%14.1%
Colorado5,197,5804,690,377507,203192,391314,812
 100.0%90.2%9.8%3.7%6.1%
Connecticut3,592,0533,101,593490,460235,507254,953
 100.0%86.3%13.7%6.6%7.1%
Delaware917,060840,18176,87935,52741,352
 100.0%91.6%8.4%3.9%4.5%
District of Columbia633,736545,11088,62634,48354,143
 100.0%86.0%14.0%5.4%8.5%
Florida19,361,79215,571,9633,789,8291,960,0091,829,820
 100.0%80.4%19.6%10.1%9.5%
Georgia9,907,7568,945,010962,746371,908590,838
 100.0%90.3%9.7%3.8%6.0%
Hawaii1,392,7041,143,424249,280140,906108,374
 100.0%82.1%17.9%10.1%7.8%
Idaho1,599,4641,503,82995,63534,22961,406
 100.0%94.0%6.0%2.1%3.8%
Illinois12,868,74711,081,8211,786,926838,686948,240
 100.0%86.1%13.9%6.5%7.4%
Indiana6,542,4116,229,726312,685112,699199,986
 100.0%95.2%4.8%1.7%3.1%
Iowa3,078,1162,934,406143,71054,01789,693
 100.0%95.3%4.7%1.8%2.9%
Kansas2,882,9462,687,052195,89468,325127,569
 100.0%93.2%6.8%2.4%4.4%
Kentucky4,383,2724,235,463147,80952,65395,156
 100.0%96.6%3.4%1.2%2.2%
Louisiana4,601,0494,419,407181,64272,250109,392
 100.0%96.1%3.9%1.6%2.4%
Maine1,328,5351,281,40647,12925,63121,498
 100.0%96.5%3.5%1.9%1.6%
Maryland5,887,7765,050,375837,401397,433439,968
 100.0%85.8%14.2%6.8%7.5%
Massachusetts6,657,2915,639,9251,017,366520,931496,435
 100.0%84.7%15.3%7.8%7.5%
Michigan9,889,0249,278,502610,522308,236302,286
 100.0%93.8%6.2%3.1%3.1%
Minnesota5,383,6614,980,116403,545193,791209,754
 100.0%92.5%7.5%3.6%3.9%
Mississippi2,984,3452,917,37466,97123,49843,473
 100.0%97.8%2.2%0.8%1.5%
Missouri6,028,0765,792,081235,995103,033132,962
 100.0%96.1%3.9%1.7%2.2%
Montana1,006,370985,85020,52010,8949,626
 100.0%98.0%2.0%1.1%1.0%
Nebraska1,855,6171,735,200120,41742,72177,696
 100.0%93.5%6.5%2.3%4.2%
Nevada2,761,5842,234,549527,035233,551293,484
 100.0%80.9%19.1%8.5%10.6%
New Hampshire1,321,0691,247,65773,41238,52934,883
 100.0%94.4%5.6%2.9%2.6%
New Jersey8,874,3746,969,9691,904,405989,166915,239
 100.0%78.5%21.5%11.1%10.3%
New Mexico2,080,0851,874,204205,88170,926134,955
 100.0%90.1%9.9%3.4%6.5%
New York19,594,33015,218,3854,375,9452,317,7872,058,158
 100.0%77.7%22.3%11.8%10.5%
North Carolina9,750,4059,009,170741,235240,268500,967
 100.0%92.4%7.6%2.5%5.1%
North Dakota704,925684,37020,5557,48413,071
 100.0%97.1%2.9%1.1%1.9%
Ohio11,560,38011,091,189469,191233,953235,238
 100.0%95.9%4.1%2.0%2.0%
Oklahoma3,818,8513,604,070214,78170,846143,935
 100.0%94.4%5.6%1.9%3.8%
Oregon3,900,3433,516,357383,986150,498233,488
 100.0%90.2%9.8%3.9%6.0%
Pennsylvania12,758,72911,976,626782,103401,469380,634
 100.0%93.9%6.1%3.1%3.0%
Rhode Island1,053,252915,234138,01870,04967,969
 100.0%86.9%13.1%6.7%6.5%
South Carolina4,727,2734,500,820226,45381,502144,951
 100.0%95.2%4.8%1.7%3.1%
South Dakota834,708810,30824,4009,09615,304
 100.0%97.1%2.9%1.1%1.8%
Tennessee6,451,3656,146,570304,795109,057195,738
 100.0%95.3%4.7%1.7%3.0%
Texas26,092,03321,795,0854,296,9481,454,6722,842,276
 100.0%83.5%16.5%5.6%10.9%
Utah2,858,1112,618,427239,68484,697154,987
 100.0%91.6%8.4%3.0%5.4%
Vermont626,358600,17826,18015,20110,979
 100.0%95.8%4.2%2.4%1.8%
Virginia8,185,1317,236,647948,484454,434494,050
 100.0%88.4%11.6%5.6%6.0%
Washington6,899,1235,978,429920,694427,201493,493
 100.0%86.7%13.3%6.2%7.2%
West Virginia1,853,8811,826,34127,54012,96914,571
 100.0%98.5%1.5%0.7%0.8%
Wisconsin5,724,6925,456,268268,424114,684153,740
 100.0%95.3%4.7%2.0%2.7%
Wyoming575,251555,91519,3367,06312,273
 100.0%96.6%3.4%1.2%2.1%
Source: United States Census Bureau, “Selected Characteristics of the Native and Foreign-Born Populations”

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