U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Bill Hagerty, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to End Counting of Illegal Aliens in Determining Electoral College Votes, Congressional District Apportionment

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 29, 2024 — U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) recently joined Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and 19 of her colleagues in introducing the Equal Representation Act, which would ensure that only legal citizens are factored into the count for Congressional District and Electoral College apportionment.

The current census method of counting illegal aliens for purposes of representation incentivizes open borders by boosting the relative political power of the respective states and voters that court mass illegal migration. For example, at least two million illegal aliens reside in California, currently resulting in this sanctuary state being apportioned several more congressional seats and Electoral College votes than the states’ population of citizens would justify. The legislation comes after a video revealed a Democrat Congresswoman openly calling for more illegal migration to her New York Congressional District because she “needs more people in her district for redistricting purposes.”

“This bill is a commonsense measure to ensure that the census and apportionment process does not incentivize and encourage mass illegal migration,” said Senator Britt. “Counting illegal aliens in the census and then awarding both more representation in Congress and more Electoral College votes to states with larger populations of illegal aliens effectively disenfranchises American citizens. I thank Senator Hagerty for introducing this straightforward legislation, and I will continue fighting to put hardworking Americans first.”

In addition to Senator Britt, cosponsors of the bill include Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.Dak.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), Pete Ricketts (R-Nebr.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.Dak.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), John Thune (R-S.Dak.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), and J.D. Vance (R-Ohio).

The Equal Representation Act:

• Requires that the Census Bureau include a citizenship question on any future census to provide a greater understanding of the U.S. population and delineate between citizens and non-citizens for apportionment purposes;
• Prohibits non-citizens from being counted for purposes of congressional district and Electoral College apportionment;
• Requires that the Census Bureau publicly report on certain demographic data.

The text of the bill can be found here.

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