Changes in population will have direct consequences for legislative reapportionment and redistricting and Hispanic representation across the country.
Analyses for Connecticut and Florida show how Hispanic population growth has driven overall population growth in Florida and has compensated for the population losses of other ethnoracial groups in Connecticut. The Hispanic population in the United States is driving population growth at the national, state, and local levels. In many locations, the growth of the Hispanic population has complemented the population growth of a state, county, or town. In others, Hispanic growth has driven the population growth in those locations, oftentimes stanching losses in the numbers of the majority population, non-Hispanic whites.
Changes in population will have direct consequences for reapportionment and redistricting of legislative districts across the country. The fact that the Hispanic population has been a leading factor in this process of population change offers an opportunity for increasing Hispanic political representation in legislative districts. The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (Centro) has conducted analyses of population change across states (e.g., New York, Florida, Connecticut) and counties with a large presence of Puerto Ricans to highlight how population growth and changes in distribution will impact political representation in those jurisdictions. In Florida specifically, Puerto Rican population growth has contributed greatly to population growth in the central region of the state. With the apportionment of one additional congressional seat, it could lead to the possibility of increased Hispanic political representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Find the analyses at these links:
Redistricting 2020: Population Change and
Hispanic Congressional Representation in Connecticut
Redistricting 2020: The Prospects of Increasing
Hispanic Legislative Representation in Florida
