Michigan Losing Political Clout – Thanks To The Census
It’s not that we didn’t see it coming. And it’s really nothing new. But the hard reality of Michigan losing yet another seat in Congress is still a hard change to accept. The reality of Michigan having even less of a voice in the U. S. House of Representatives is old hat for those who’ve been in the middle of the political realm. It’s happened following every U.S. Census for the past few decades.
The new U.S. Census report is being officially turned over to the Biden Administration in Washington. It shows Michigan is experiencing a slight increase in population. But a few tenths of a percentage increase pales in comparison to a 10 percent increase in Texas.
So as Michigan loses another seat, Texas picks up two.
Organizations like the Citizens Research Council of Michigan have been projecting for a couple of years that the state would get kicked again by the census. In the ’70s into the early ’80s, Michigan had 19 Congressional seats. Now, our current 14 seats drop to 13. Maybe even worse, Michigan’s votes in the Electoral College drop from 16 to 15.
Now the scramble gets underway for the new Michigan Redistricting Commission charged with determining congressional district boundaries. It’s already asked for a court ruling to allow it to miss its mandated completion date for its work since the Census data is late being released. Its work is even more critical since it will now have to essentially decide which Congressional district gets eaten up by others surrounding it. Political observers from both major parties concede, there are no winners in this situation.
UP NEXT: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving
More From WBCKFM
