The U.S. Census Bureau will release preliminary numbers from the 2020 census by the end of the month, but an early population predictions show the shrinking population of the state is enough for it to loss one district.
Pennsylvania has lost at least one congressional seat after every census since 1920, or at least one every 10 years for the last 100 years.
If the predictions are correct, new district maps will need to be drawn prior to the next primary
The map must be approved but both the Gov. Tom Wolf and state lawmakers, but it they cannot agree in time for the next election, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will get the final say.
A new map with only 17 districts means if all 18 incumbent US representatives want to run for reelect, two of them will have to run against each other.
An interactive map of the predictions based on historical data is available on the Census Bureau’s website, here.
This would be the first time the state lost a seat in a decade, when the last census was taken.
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