Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier discussed the impact of rectifications to the U.S. Census and its ramifications on the state's congressional map during a recent discussion with Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power on Power Play!
"I think people at home don't fully appreciate how important the census is to the future electoral power decisions of our country," Uthmeier said. "The census, the count of people, is how we determine how many congressional representatives the state is going to get to represent the people in DC. It's how we decide the electoral votes that decide our next president. It's how billions of dollars are spread out across the country."
In August, Uthmeier requested that the U.S. Commerce Department make corrections to the 2020 U.S Census, arguing it incorrectly overcounted and undercounted the populations of 14 states, including Florida.
In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Uthemeir argued that the miscount cost Florida another congressional seat and should be corrected ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Uthmeier detailed that the census undercounted Florida’s population by 761,094 people, when it only needed about 171,500 residents to gain an extra seat, blaming the Biden administration while speaking to Power for the mishaps.
"They slowed everything down. There were reports of a lot of problems in the tabulations and processing, finalizing of the census, and out it pops with Florida just getting one seat, and Rhode Island, who was supposed to lose a seat, did not."
Ironically, Biden's Commerce Secretary at the time was Gina Raimondo, who served as the governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021.
Florida's population also boomed following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Many residents from states like New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island moved to the Sunshine State, arguing against excessive lockdowns on businesses and restrictions on day-to-day life, such as going to restaurants or going to the beach.
It is realistic to think Florida might gain seats in the future.
In 2030, Florida is expected to gain as many as four congressional seats, along with Texas.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has also called for a mid-decade redrawing of Florida’s congressional map, possibly speeding up the process. Texas went through a similar process earlier this year.
Census data is typically updated every decade.
In his conversation with Power, Uthmeier also criticized the government for including illegal aliens in its census figures, arguing it gave states like California an advantage. Uthmeier's call comes after President Donald Trump argued for a change to the collection in August.
"I still believe it's wrong that illegal immigrants have been included in apportionment. It gives states like California electoral power based on a heightened presence of people that do not have a constitutional right to vote," Uthmeier said. "I think this is wrong. I think the founders would find it abhorrent."
Uthmeier, who was appointed attorney general by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February, also touched on several other topics during his conversation with Power, including "Alligator Alcatraz," public safety, and Florida's plan to introduce a presidential library to Trump in Miami, which is currently in limbo.
