Pennsylvania is Reapportionment’s version of the Biggest Loser. If projections hold, Pennsylvania will lose Congressional seats for the ninth straight Census.
Several projections have been conducted by experts during the last few years – with Texas and Arizona universally considered to be the big winners of multiple seats, with the remaining gains coming from states in the southern and western regions of the country: Nevada, Utah, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia. (Oregon and North Carolina might also gain seats).
Most states projected to lose seats, meanwhile, are located in the Northeastern and Midwestern regions – Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Missouri. (Louisiana is also projected to lose a seat and potentially California).
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Population shifts, and the resulting reapportionment, caused by the expansion and settling of a new nation are expected, of course, but there has also been great fluctuation in the apportionment of seats to the U.S. House even after membership was (largely) stabilized at 435 voting members after the 1910 census.
Pennsylvania has suffered the largest number of lost seats over the years – losing 17 seats from their peak U.S. House delegation of 36 members after the 1910 Census to 19 seats today.
Pennsylvania has lost seats for a record eight consecutive census periods, beginning with the 15th Census in 1930 through the 22nd Census in 2000, and are expected to lose another seat after the 2010 Census.
Neighboring New York has also endured a significant drop in seats to the U.S. House. After holding steady at 45 seats after the 1930 and 1940 Censuses, the Empire State has lost seats in six consecutive census periods, shedding 16 seats in total to its current level of 29 seats today.
Two other states have lost seats by double-digit margins from their peak representation in the U.S. House – Virginia (-12) and Massachusetts (-10). However, each of these states reached their peak levels after the 1810 Census, when the country was comprised of just seventeen states. Virginia had 23 seats at that time, or 12.7 percent of the 181-seat U.S. House of Representatives, with Massachusetts at 20 seats, or 11.0 percent.
In total, 34 states currently have a U.S. House delegation that is smaller than its peak historical level.
Virginia and Massachusetts lost seats, too, because new states (West Virginia and Maine) were formed from their territory.
via Taegan Goddard
