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Keegan Reilly's avatar

Cool! This aspect of our Constitution has resurfaced in a current debate around immigration, with some on the right alledging that Democrats gain up to 20 electoral votes through blue state population counts being boosted by undocumented immigrants. When I checked the data myself the effect looked closer to neutral.

Albert Russell Thompson's avatar

The Democrats should not be so quick to dismiss the arguments around counting undocumented immigrants in the census. Rather, the Democrats should develop their arguments for why it is either A) not a big deal or B) more trouble than it is worth to try and fix. But the Constitution has always counted legal immigrants as part of the census.

Regarding undocumented immigrants I think you correct as there are many in Texas, Missouri, Arizona, Louisiana, and Florida which tend to be Red-to-Purple states, so the impact is probably a wash. Which is separate from the question of whether they should be counted as the argument could be made that is advantages some States over other States regardless of party.

But history would look different if Adams did not lose to Jefferson.