Thursday, Dec. 28, 2000 | 11:28 a.m.
Nevada will gain another seat in Congress and in the Electoral College, the Census Bureau confirmed today.
The bureau today released the first set of numbers garnered by the door-to-door sweep of U.S. households last spring and summer, and as expected, population growth beefed up the congressional representation for eight Western, Southern and Mountain states.
The total for the April 1, 2000, Census pegged the U.S. population at 281,421,906 people, up more than 33 million from the 1990 count.
Every state in the nation grew in population, but the growth was faster in most Southern, Mountain and Western states.
Arizona, Texas, Florida and Georgia gained two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, while New York and Pennsylvania lost two each.
Along with Nevada, California, Colorado and North Carolina gained a seat in the House, while Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin lost one each.
Nevada, in percentage terms, was the biggest population gainer of all, with more than a 66 percent jump from the 1990 Census. In terms of the actual head count, the state had just over 2 million people.
Since every 600,000 block of people represents one seat in the House of Representatives, the state gained one seat. That means Nevada has two senators and as of the November 2002 elections, three representatives, for a total of five electoral votes.
Statistically adjusted figures that account for any undercount -- or overcount, although historically that hasn't been a problem -- should also reflect a growth in the state's population. Those numbers will be the key to increasing Nevada's share of the $200 billion in federal funding that goes to the states.
In a press conferencethis morning announcing the results, Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, Undersecretary for Economic Affairs Robert J. Shapiro and Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt all made a case that the adjusted numbers should be used to determine political and funding priorities.
The use of the scientifically adjusted numbers versus the actual head count has been an issue of partisan debate. Democrats have generally favored the use of the adjusted numbers, and Republicans have opposed that use.
"It matters in so much and so many ways," Shapiro said. "Without the use of scientific methods, millions of people would be missed."
In the 1990 Census, American Indian, Hispanics and blacks were undercounted at rates far above the national average, he said.
The Commerce Department and Census Bureau officials said scientists will have those adjusted figures ready for the states by the end of February. The adjusted numbers cannot, by federal law, be used to actually decide the number of congressional representatives that a state will get. However, those adjusted numbers can be used to draw the lines that divide congressional districts.
The congressional districts are determined by the states. For the Nevada Legislature and staff members of the Legislative Bureau Counsel, the heavy lifting will come three months from now, when detailed information down to the block level arrives from the Census Bureau.
The elected representatives and staff members have to put lines on the map to create the new congressional seat, as well as draw new districts for the Nevada Senate, Assembly, Board of Education and Board of Regents.
Three issues will likely dominate the redistricting discussion in the upcoming session:
Highlighting the changes, Prewitt noted that Texas had displaced New York as the nation's second-most-populous state. California remained the largest with a population of 33.8 million, up 13.8 percent from a decade ago.
Every state in the nation increased its population, with West Virginia recording the smallest growth at 0.8 percent. The District of Columbia experienced the only population decline, falling 5.7 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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