Central Louisiana News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and their Republican colleagues have introduced the Equal Representation Act, a new legislation aimed at ensuring that only legal citizens are taken into account when determining Congressional districts and the Electoral College map for presidential elections. The current practice of including illegal immigrants in these calculations serves as an incentive for open borders and ultimately distorts the political power of certain states and voters.

The inspiration for this legislation came after a video emerged showing a Democrat Congresswoman openly advocating for increased illegal immigration to her New York congressional district in order to gain more people for redistricting purposes. Senator Hagerty expressed his concerns, stating, "It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants and non-citizens are counted toward Congressional district apportionment and our electoral map. Desperate Democrats are back-filling the mass exodus with illegal immigrants so that they do not lose their seats in Congress and maintain electoral votes for the Presidency, artificially boosting their political power."

Senator Cassidy also highlighted the importance of accurately counting only American citizens for congressional representation and federal funding. He emphasized, "When the Census Bureau counts the population, it determines congressional representation, funding for communities, and other things. When dividing up congressional seats and federal dollars, only American citizens should count."

Currently, illegal immigrants are factored into congressional district apportionment and, consequently, Electoral College votes. This means that states like California, with a large population of illegal alien residents, end up with more congressional seats and Electoral College votes than their population of citizens would justify. This creates an imbalance, as the power of an individual's vote in California is significantly increased compared to someone in another state with fewer illegal immigrants. This system inadvertently incentivizes illegal immigration and resettlement in order to boost political power.

The Equal Representation Act, introduced by Senators Cassidy and Hagerty, has garnered support from a number of their Republican colleagues including Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), John Thune (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).

The Equal Representation Act seeks to address the issue of counting illegal immigrants in determining Congressional districts and Electoral College votes. By requiring a citizenship question on the census, this legislation aims to ensure that only American citizens are counted in congressional redistricting. It aims to rectify the perverse incentive that encourages illegal immigration and resettlement for the sole purpose of increasing political power.

As this legislation moves forward, it remains to be seen how it will be received by lawmakers and whether it will garner bipartisan support. Nevertheless, the introduction of the Equal Representation Act signals a potential shift in the approach to determining congressional representation and electoral power, emphasizing the need for accurate and fair representation based on the citizenship of individuals.