#apportionment

Sen. Jim Banks (R - Indiana) criticized the 2020 census, saying “The 2020 Census was a fraud. The Biden admin used a shady “privacy” formula that scrambled the data and miscounted 14 states. It included illegal immigrants and handed Democrats extra seats. Americans deserve a fair count…”

The October 10, 2025 blog post refutes these charges, making these points:

Differential privacy was not applied to the state-level population totals that determine how many representatives each state sends to Congress.

The 2020 census encountered difficulties due to the covid pandemic. The blog post outlines groups that were probably overcounted or undercounted and explains how we know.

Problems in the 2020 census affected both blue states and red states.

The Constitution requires the census to count the whole number of persons in each state; it says nothing about immigration status.

Circulating on social media is an image that reads: “If Trump deports every illegal in California, the state will lose 3 congressional seats and 2 electoral votes. Now you know.” Except, now you know. . .what, exactly? The meme suggests that undocumented immigrants inflate political power in California and that removing them would reshape Congress overnight. It rests on incorrect assumptions…