Remember last summer when we were encouraging you to participate in the census? Well, this is further proof of why it's so important.

Thanks to the results of the 2020 census, Texas has gained two seats in the United States House of Representatives. That brings our total number of representatives in the House to 38.  In fact, Texas had the highest population increase of any state, adding 3,999,944 since the 2010 census.

Texas was one of just 6 states to gain seats, and the only state to gain 2. Seven other states (including California) actually lost seats.

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This isn't a new trend for Texas either. The Texas Tribune reports that the Lone Star State has gained at least one new congressional seat following every census since 1950, and has gained two or more since 1980. We'll now have 40 Electoral College Votes, which is great but still trailing behind California's 54 EC votes.

USA Today reports that it was mostly Republican-leaning states like Texas that gained seats, while Democrat-leaning and battleground states made up the majority of those that lost seats.

I found this pretty crazy: NBC News reports that New York lost a seat, but could have kept it if just 89 more people lived there! (Though I'm thinking 89 people just didn't fill out a census form.)

You no doubt heard or saw ads from the Census Bureau all last year about the importance of filling out the form or letting one of the friendly people going door-to-door do it for you. That's because the Constitution calls for a census every ten years that, among other things, determines how seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are "apportioned".

It'll be interesting (and no doubt highly controversial) to see what happens as Texas congressional districts are carved out ahead of the 2022 election.

The Texas Tribune reports that here in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott will probably have to call a special session in the Fall to decide on what those districts will look like.

Like I said, it should be interesting.

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