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

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

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

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

   • They are in the apportionment population when assignable to a home state, 348,698 people in 2020
   • Military members are counted, but federal civilian employees and dependents living with them are not
   • 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?

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

   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 keeps its seats, since each state keeps the one seat it was given first and cannot lose it
   • Nothing is certain: seats depend on its share of the total and on whole seats, not on growth alone
   • It loses a seat, because it grew more slowly than the nation's 7.4 percent and so its share fell
   • It gains a seat, because any growth in population adds people to each of its districts, and more people earn more seats
7. 6.

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

   • A Delaware member of the House represents more people than a Montana member, since each state gets one seat first
   • 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
   • The Census overcounted Delaware, since its average district is larger than the national average of 761,169
8. 7.

   Ren reads card A. The average district rose 7.1 percent between 2010 and 2020. Which statement is supported?

   • The average rose by 50,402 people, which means each state's districts grew by that same amount
   • Congress added seats in some states, so the average district grew in the states with more
   • The House stayed at 435 seats while the population grew, so the average member covers more people
   • The average district grew because the House lost seats between 2010 and 2020 across the country
9. 8.

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

   • 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
   • Seats are shared by population, but no state is promised a seat before the sharing of seats starts, in any year
10. 9.

    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 lost one House seat; it does not report a change in the state's population
    • Card A shows West Virginia gained a seat, so the note should say it grew faster than the nation
    • Card A shows West Virginia's population fell, since a state that loses a seat must have lost people
11. 10.

    Pia's note says: "The Method of Equal Proportions has been used since 1790 to divide the House." Which fix fits card A?

    • The method has been used since the 1940 Census to divide seats among the states and the District of Columbia
    • The Method of Equal Proportions has been used since the 1940 Census to divide a fixed 435 seats
    • The method has been used since 1940 to decide how many seats the House should have
    • The method has been used since 1790, and the 435 seats were set by the 2020 Census