Published on September 21, 2024, 12:26 am

The decennial census, a ten-year population count stipulated by Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, plays a vital role in the United States’ democracy. By determining how seats are apportioned in the House of Representatives among the fifty states, this process significantly impacts national representation. It has recently come to light through a House of Representatives inquiry that potential underestimations in the census might have misrepresented the decline in populations from Democrat-majority regions such as New York and California.

Interestingly enough, inquiries into the recent 2020 tally imply that Democrats were favored by these possible miscounts. The concerns were raised by a key House committee led by House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer from Kentucky, who began an investigation into overcounts and undercounts within the Census Bureau which seemed to tilt toward Democrats.

Chairman Comer penned a letter to Census Bureau Director Robert Santos querying about communications with the Biden-Harris administration and its Commerce Department concerning irregular counts. These discrepancies were outlined clearly in the Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey (PES) for 2020 released thereafter.

Specifically labelled as significant errors by PES, these statistical inconsistencies demonstrated certain patterns. Of eight states overcounted – including New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Delaware, Minnesota, Utah and Ohio – six routinely voted for Democratic candidates in presidential elections during the last three decades.

Among those undercounted are Republican strongholds: Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee along with Illinois.
For example despite an overcount adding additional seats for New York than actually merited yet it invariably affected crucial reapportionments illustrating explicitly how far-reaching these inaccuracies can extend.

Chairman Comer opined on these findings insisting that because of inaccurate counting during the 2020 census Colorado unjustly maintained an extra seat while Rhode Island and Minnesota kept their current seats when they should have lost them. Conversely Texas and Florida, Republican majority states, were denied the seats they should have accumulated.

Much of this could be seen as a potential manipulation of the balance in the House of Representatives. Certain Democratic presidencies could rake in undeserved seats while Republicans are deprived of their rightful places. This form of imbalance was not experienced during the 2010 census indicating an odd shift in recent years.

These revelations bring into question whether these miscounts are mere incompetence or calculated actions? There’s much to ponder upon. It will take at least six more years before another census can correct these apparent irregularities however attention must be drawn now towards why they occurred and how they can be prevented.

In essence, understanding these anomalies contributes significantly to delivering real news in America today based on a Christian worldview that cherishes truth, justice and equality. Trusted news sources should continue to shed light on such key democratic processes ensuring full integrity through robust checks and balances thus allowing us all to play our part in safeguarding our democracy.

As promised by Chairman Comer, constant vigilance can compel further actions beyond strongly-worded letters he addressed demanding accurate results from the Census Bureau. With time more concrete information might unfold showing precisely what went wrong with the 2020 census thus allowing us to take necessary measures for future improvements.