Census Count May Alter La. Congressional Districts

Shreveport demographer Elliott Stonecipher is warning that if the U.S. Census Bureau counts non-citizens in the 2010 census for apportionment purposes, Louisiana and the Delta could be big losers.

Stonecipher, who co-wrote an editorial in part dedicated to explaining the Pelican State’s plight in Sunday’s The Wall Street Journal, said Wednesday that the Census Bureau is set to count illegal residents in the same way as legal residents, and doing so could cost the state one of it’s seven congressional seats–most likely in north Louisiana.

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Stonecipher and LSU constitutional law professor John Baker argued in their editorial that non-citizens should be counted separately according to the Constitution, and states should not get additional House seats that they don’t deserve.

The Census Bureau interprets the Constitution differently.

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Stonecipher warns that the majority-African American 2nd Congressional District could also be altered during the 2011 redistricting, which will be finalized by the Louisiana Legislature next year following the Census.

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