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MWNB: Census Count Could Mean More Congress Seats In The West

 Wednesday is officially Census Day. That’s when government officials encourage Americans to fill out their census ballots.

Getting an accurate census count is really important. It tells the government how much money they should give communities and it will shake up the region’s political representation. 

Evan Curtis is with the Utah Governor’s office. He works on census outreach. 

“You know, we often think about – are we going to get another congressional seat. But really, this is impacting state legislatures, it’s impacting city councils as well," Curtis said.

All the lawmakers who represent our communities. And with the West growing and changing rapidly over the past decade, the region’s political districts could change significantly. 

 

For instance, projections from the political consulting firm Election Data Services suggest that both Montana and Colorado could each gain one congressional seat, giving the region more representation in D.C.

 

 
This story came to us from the Mountain West News Bureau.  A partnership between public media stations from around the region.