What Happened?

Your state could gain or lose a voice in Washington under the 2030 census citizenship plan now on the table. Federal officials have proposed narrowing the head count used to divide House seats to leave out people who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The proposal came in a September 10 notice of proposed rulemaking and was described in a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published September 28.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

The Constitution requires a national population count every 10 years to decide how House seats are divided among the states. That count uses a rule called 'usual residence,' which for 2020 meant where a person lives and sleeps most of the time.

The rule can differ from legal or voting residence, and the 2030 draft spells out groups that are easy to miscount:

  • U.S. military members and federal civilian workers living abroad
  • Babies born on or after census day and people who die on or after that day
  • People in detention facilities and their dependents

To check legal status, planners are weighing federal agency files plus state, local and tribal records, plus third-party commercial data. They also signaled a possible citizenship question on the form.

Both Sides, Now

Some members of Congress have introduced bills to require a citizenship question in the census and leave noncitizens out of the seat-division tally. Other members have introduced bills to bar such a question. The report found none of the introduced bills on the topic have been signed into law.

An earlier plan to add the question of citizenship was blocked when the Supreme Court said the Commerce Secretary's reason tied to Voting Rights Act enforcement seemed contrived, though the report notes such a question could be allowed with appropriate rationale.

What Happens Next?

Public comments on the draft are due October 13. The administration would need to clarify the objective and distinguish between collecting citizenship information for statistical or administrative purposes, and using citizenship to determine the population count for apportionment.

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