Read election and census data: turnout, apportionment and margins of error

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A, the 2020 Census apportionment (Census Bureau, April 26, 2021; our words). The resident population of the 50 states and the District of Columbia was 331,449,281, up 7.4 percent from 2010. The House has 435 seats, as it did in 2010. The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have no voting seats, so they are not part of apportionment. The apportionment population of the 50 states was 331,108,434: their resident population (330,759,736) plus 348,698 overseas military and federal civilian employees, and their dependents, who could be assigned to a home state. Each state gets one seat first, and the other seats are shared by population using the Method of Equal Proportions, in use since the 1940 Census. Seven seats shifted among 13 states. Texas gained two; Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon gained one each; California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia lost one each. The average district grew from 710,767 people in 2010 to 761,169, a rise of 50,402 (7.1 percent). Delaware, with one seat, had the largest average district (990,837), and Montana the smallest (542,704).

2. 1.

   Tala reads card A. Which people are counted in the apportionment population of 331,108,434?

   • Residents of the 50 states alone, which is 330,759,736 people on the day of the census
   • Residents of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, since D.C. residents are Americans too
   • Residents of the 50 states plus overseas military and federal staff assigned to a home state
   • Residents of the states, D.C. and Puerto Rico, since the Census counts each place it covers
3. 2.

   Bo reads card A. A reporter writes that the nation's population was 331,108,434 in 2020. Which fix fits?

   • That is the apportionment population of the 50 states; with D.C. the resident population was 331,449,281
   • That is the resident population, and 331,449,281 is the larger count that the Bureau used to assign seats
   • The figure is right for the nation, since the Census counts the same people for each purpose
   • The figure leaves out overseas troops, so the reporter should add 348,698 to reach the true total
4. 3.

   Noah reads card A. A student says overseas military families are counted nowhere in the Census. Which reply fits?

   • Military members are counted, but federal civilian employees and dependents living with them are not
   • They are in the apportionment population when assignable to a home state, 348,698 people in 2020
   • They are in the resident population of the 50 states, counted with the people living at home
   • They are counted if they return home before April 1, the census date, and not otherwise
5. 4.

   Esme reads card A. Texas gained two seats and West Virginia lost one, but the House still has 435 seats. What explains this?

   • Seats are shared out of a fixed 435, so the seats some states gain must come from other states
   • Texas's population doubled while West Virginia's fell by half, which moves seats directly between them
   • Gains and losses came from different states, so gains do not need to equal losses
   • The House grew by one seat, so Texas could gain more than West Virginia lost
6. 5.

   Ari reads card A. Seven seats shifted among 13 states. How many states gained seats, and why do gains equal losses?

   • Six states gained seven seats, so the nation's population gain created seven new seats in the House
   • Six states gained seven seats and seven lost six, leaving one seat for the Bureau to place
   • Seven states gained seven seats and six lost seven, since the total is fixed at 435
   • Six states gained seven seats in all and seven states lost seven, since the total is fixed at 435
7. 6.

   Luz reads card A. The nation grew 7.4 percent, and a state's resident population grew 5 percent. What can be said about its House seats?

   • It gains a seat, because any growth in population adds people to each of its districts, and more people earn more seats
   • It loses a seat, because it grew more slowly than the nation's 7.4 percent and so its share fell
   • Nothing is certain: seats depend on its share of the total and on whole seats, not on growth alone
   • It keeps its seats, since each state keeps the one seat it was given first and cannot lose it
8. 7.

   Kira reads card A. Delaware's one district averaged 990,837 people and Montana's 542,704. What does that show?

   • The Census overcounted Delaware, since its average district is larger than the national average of 761,169
   • A Montana member represents more people than a Delaware member, since Montana's average is smaller
   • Delaware voters have less say in any election, since their House member covers more people
   • A Delaware member of the House represents more people than a Montana member, since each state gets one seat first
9. 8.

   Milo reads card A. A student says Montana gained a seat because its average district was the smallest in 2020. Which reply fits?

   • The card lists the average as an outcome of the apportionment, so it cannot be the reason for the gain
   • Montana gained a seat because Delaware's district is so large that seats had to move to Montana from it
   • Montana's gain shows that states with small districts are rewarded with new seats after each census
   • Montana's average is the smallest because Montana has the fewest people of any state in the Union
10. 9.

    Zee's note says: "Seats are given out by dividing each state's population by 435 and rounding." Which fix fits card A?

    • Seats are shared by population, but no state is promised a seat before the sharing of seats starts, in any year
    • Seats go to states by dividing resident population, D.C. included, by 435 and then rounding up or down
    • Each state gets one seat first, and the rest are shared by population with the Method of Equal Proportions
    • Each state's seats are set by its land area, with the Method of Equal Proportions breaking any ties
11. 10.

    Jun's note says: "The 2020 count shows West Virginia shrank." Which fix fits card A?

    • Card A shows West Virginia's lost seat went to Texas, which is why West Virginia shrank
    • Card A shows West Virginia gained a seat, so the note should say it grew faster than the nation
    • Card A shows West Virginia lost one House seat; it does not report a change in the state's population
    • Card A shows West Virginia's population fell, since a state that loses a seat must have lost people