How are the Seats Apportioned Fairly? Every 10 years, a census is taken to count the U.S. population and gather information to see the changes in society. This information is used to create policies, make laws and determine representation in legislatures at the local, state and national level. One of the many uses of census information is to determine apportionment of the 435 representatives to the House of Representatives. Apportionment is the process of deciding how many representatives each state sends to the legislature based on population. Reapportionment is the process of re-dividing the seats for the House of Representatives (or other legislatures) based on new census data. The most populous states get the most representatives. Each state is guaranteed at least one representative. Analysis Activity: Using the Census Tables below answer the following questions. What are the 5 most populous states based on the 2000 Census? Which of states have lost representation? Which of states have gained representation? Next Topic : How has representation changed based on Census 2000 data? Change in Congressional Representation from 1990 to 2000 State Apportionment Population # of Representatives Change From 1990 California 33,930,798 53 +1 Texas 20,903,994 32 +2 New York 19,004,973 29 -2 Florida 16,028,890 25 +2 Illinois 12,439,042 19 -1 Pennsylvania 12,300,670 19 -2 Ohio 11,374,540 18 -1 Michigan 9,955,829 15 -1 Georgia 8,206,975 13 +2 New Jersey 8,424,354 13 0 North Carolina 8,067,673 13 +1 Virginia 7,100,702 11 0 Massachusetts 6,355,568 10 0 Indiana 6,090,782 9 -1 Missouri 5,606,260 9 0 Tennessee 5,700,037 9 0 Washington 5,908,684 9 0 Arizona 5,140,683 8 +2 Maryland 5,307,886 8 0 Minnesota 4,925,670 8 0 Wisconsin 5,371,210 8 -1 Alabama 4,461,130 7 0 Colorado 4,311,882 7 +1 Louisiana 4,480,271 7 0 Kentucky 4,049,431 6 0 South Carolina 4,025,061 6 0 Connecticut 3,409,535 5 -1 Iowa 2,931,923 5 0 Oklahoma 3,458,819 5 -1 Oregon 3,428,543 5 0 Arkansas 2,679,733 4 0 Kansas 2,693,824 4 0 Mississippi 2,852,927 4 -1 Nebraska 1,715,369 3 0 Nevada 2,002,032 3 +1 New Mexico 1,823,821 3 0 Utah 2,236,714 3 0 West Virginia 1,813,077 3 0 Hawaii 1,216,642 2 0 Idaho 1,297,274 2 0 Maine 1,277,731 2 0 New Hampshire 1,238,415 2 0 Rhode Island 1,049,662 2 0 Alaska 628,933 1 0 Delaware 785,068 1 0 Montana 905,316 1 0 North Dakota 643,756 1 0 South Dakota 756,874 1 0 Vermont 609,890 1 0 Wyoming 495,304 1 0 Total Apportionment 281,424,177 435   Source: Census 2000: http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t4.html

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