Equal Representation Act

# Equal Representation Act Summary **What the Bill Would Do:** The Equal Representation Act would change how the U.S. Census counts people for purposes of determining representation in Congress. Currently, the census counts all residents, including noncitizens, and this count determines how many House Representatives each state gets. This bill would exclude noncitizens from that count, meaning only U.S. citizens would be counted when dividing up the 435 House seats among states.

Additionally, the bill would require the census to ask respondents about their citizenship status and categorize people into four groups: U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals (non-citizens), lawful noncitizen residents, and unlawful residents. **Who It Affects:** This would primarily affect states with larger noncitizen populations, which could lose House representation and electoral votes if noncitizens were excluded from the count. It would also impact all census respondents, who would need to answer citizenship questions on the census form. The bill reflects ongoing debates about immigration and political representation. **Current Status:** The bill was introduced in the 119th Congress by Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC) and is currently in committee, meaning it has not yet been debated or voted on by the full House.