In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.
A salient fact that is nearly entirely absent from our current partisan redistricting discourse is the indisputable reality that the U.S. Census Bureau blew it in 2020. The agency admits that it significantly miscounted the populations of multiple states. Those errors overwhelmingly harmed red states and benefited blue ones. Experts estimate that an accurate count would have netted red states between five and 10 congressional seats over the ensuing decade, with corresponding implications for the Electoral College and the path to the presidency. According to NPR, which no one would ever mistake for a Republican-leaning media outfit, the 2020 Census contained “significant net undercount rates in six states: Arkansas (5.04%), Florida (3.48%), Illinois (1.97%), Mississippi (4.11%), Tennessee (4.78%), and Texas (1.92%). It also uncovered significant net overcount rates in eight states — Delaware (5.45%), Hawaii (6.79%), Massachusetts (2.24%), Minnesota (3.84%), New York (3.44%), Ohio (1.49%), Rhode Island (5.05%), and Utah (2.59%).”
