GOP’s Equal Representation Act Faces Fierce Democrat Opposition

Clear Facts

• The Equal Representation Act, a bill seeking to include a citizenship question on the census questionnaire beginning in 2030, received 206 favorable votes from Republicans and 202 objections from Democrats.
• Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) introduced the bill, proposing to adjust the allocation of House representatives and electoral votes to exclude noncitizens.
• Though it successfully passed in the GOP-led House, the bill has little support from Democrats, rendering its fate in the Democrat-controlled Senate uncertain.

In a stark display of party division, not a single Democrat in the House backed the bill aiming to include a citizenship question in the census questionnaire. Known as the Equal Representation Act, the bill was proposed by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) and passed through the GOP-majority House on Wednesday.

206 Republicans endorsed the bill, while 202 Democrats opposed it. A total of 22 members, equally divided between both parties, refrained from voting.

The Equal Representation Act proposes to introduce a citizenship question to the decennial census starting in 2030. It stipulates that census results would dictate the reallocation of House representatives and electoral votes to exclude noncitizens.

Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) affirmed in a statement that the House is actively striving to “proactively guard a fair electoral process.” He conveyed apprehension about what he perceives as the detrimental effects of open border policies, which he blames for the most severe border crisis in American history, affecting all Americans.

On the other hand, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the leading Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, invoked the Constitution in his opposition to the census legislation.

“The Fourteenth Amendment applies the census and reapportionment to ‘all persons.’ Constitutional originalists, textualists, and those who honor precedent must reject these unlawful attempts to limit the census and Congressional apportionment to citizens,” Raskin publicly declared.

Likewise, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL), who represents a House district created after the 2020 census to include a Hispanic majority, expressed her opposition to the bill.

She stated, “Today, Republicans forced a vote on H. R. 7109, an unconstitutional bill designed to instill fear and discourage participation in the Census.” She further added, “H.R. 1709 ultimately results in undercounting, underrepresentation, and underfunding of communities like ours, #IL03. I VOTED NO.”

Given the lack of Democrat support, the bill is likely to encounter significant obstacles in the Democrat-led Senate. Despite this, Republican lawmakers and their supporters have rallied behind the legislation, using it to bolster their stance on illegal immigration as the 2024 election approaches.

Stephen Miller, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump, expressed a warning, “House Seats and Electoral College votes could be added to areas with the highest number of undocumented immigrants unless the Senate passes the bill.” He concluded with, “Invasion by design.”

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