The state of Michigan will receive detailed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau next week. The information will have far reaching effects. In December, Michigan learned its population slipped by about 54 thousand , to just under 9.9 million people. Now the details.
The new census data breaks down Michigan’s population into a number of subsets, including race and ethnicity.
The final numbers will help state leaders redrawn election maps. Michigan is the only state that lost population during the past decade, so that means Michigan is losing one seat in Congress. The Michigan legislature will use the census data as it redraws the state's election boundries.
Redrawning congressional could give one political party the ability to control who will represent Michigan in the House of Representatives. The current 15 member delegation is split 9 Republican and 6 Democrats. Its possible the lines drawn by the Republican-led state legislature and Republican governor could tip the balance even more toward the GOP. There could be a similar tilt in state house and senate districts.
