Like 12-year-old boys celebrating their cleverness after writing a dirty word on the chalkboard, GOP state Representatives Al Baldasaro (R-Londonderry) and Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) congratulated Rep. Mike Ball (R-Manchester) on his sassy answer to a Census question that he bragged about on Facebook.
They sent my U.S. Census form back, AGAIN!!! In response to the question: “Please list all dependents at this address” I replied - “12 million illegal immigrants, 3 million crack heads, 42 million unemployable lazy people, 2 million people in over 243 prisons and 535 more in the U.S. House and Senate.” Apparently, this was not an acceptable answer.
For the record, failing to truthfully answer a Census question is a violation of federal law and carries a fine of up to $500 per question. And while Manuse maintains the questions violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge in Texas and a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled otherwise and the Supreme Court declined further appeal.
Of course, as we know, this crew claims the New Hampshire House Committee on Constitutional Review and Statutory Recodification has the final say on whether federal laws are constitutional.
Yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau released the official 2010 population count for New Hampshire. The Granite State, with 6.9% population growth, was the fastest growing state in New England over the last decade. However, the state’s growth slowed significantly from 2000 and trailed the 9.7% growth measured for rest of the country.
New Hampshire 2010 Population (including Military Overseas): 1,321,445
New Hampshire 2010 Population (excluding Military Overseas): 1,316,470
Ideal New Hampshire Congressional district size (two seats): 658,235
Ideal New Hampshire Senate district size (24 seats): 54,853
Ideal New Hampshire House district size (400 seats): 3,291
In February and March, the Census Bureau will release demographic data to the states and New Hampshire lawmakers will begin the redistricting process. They will have until the June 2012 filing period opens to create the new voting districts for Congress, Executive Council, State Senate, and State House.
Based on the county population estimates from the 2009 American Community Survey Data, Grant Bosse projects Coos county will lose two House seats and Cheshire county will lose one, while Belknap, Merrimack, and Rockingham counties will each gain a seat. He also projects Manchester and Nashua will each lose two House seats.
We’ll see.
