The details of the 2010 census in the USA were released today. The political significance of the apportionment of Representatives is
- Some states will have more more seats in the House of Representatives - some will have less
- The Electoral College for the election of the President changes - again giving more "Electoral College Votes" to some - and less to others
Winners
- Texas +4
- Florida +2
- Arizona : Georgia : Nevada : South Carolina : Utah : Washington - all +1
Losers
- New York : Ohio : each -2
- Illinois : Iowa : Louisiana : Massachusetts : Michigan : Missouri : New Jersey : Pennsylvania - all -1
If these are compared with the 2008 Presidential Election - Obama would have only won 343 Electoral Votes and McCain would have increased his Electoral College tally to 168. On the face of it, not a great difference - but for 2012 it makes Florida more important (Obama only won it with 50.9% of the vote). Solidly Republican states gain in their proportion of the Electoral College seats [Texas (4) - 55% : Arizona (1) 54% South Carolina (1) 54% Utah (1) 63%] while solid Democratic states lose their proportional strength [New York (-2) 63% : Illinois (-1) 62% : Iowa (-1) 54% : Massachusetts (-1) 62% : New Jersey (-1) 57% : Pennsylvania (-1) 54%.
Of further concern to the Democrats is that as a result of the 2010 state elections - more of the redistricting within the States will be in Republican hands - which could significantly affect the makeup of the House of Representatives.
The details of the census data can be accessed
here.