H.R. 7167: The "Make It Count Act"

Summary

The "Make It Count Act" is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 21, 2026. The main provisions of the bill are:

1. Requiring a Citizenship Question on the Census

• The bill would amend the Census Act to require the 2030 decennial census and all future decennial censuses to include a question on citizenship status.
• The census form would include checkboxes for respondents to indicate whether they are a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national but not a citizen, a lawful resident alien, or an unlawful resident alien.
• The Secretary of Commerce would be required to publicly report the state-level population counts disaggregated by these 4 citizenship categories.

2. Basing Apportionment on Citizens Rather Than Total Population

• The bill would amend the Apportionment Act to exclude non-citizens when calculating the number of House seats apportioned to each state and the number of electoral votes.
• This change would take effect starting with the 2030 census and subsequent apportionments.

3. Limiting Congressional Redistricting After Apportionment

• The bill would prohibit states from conducting more than one congressional redistricting after each decennial census and apportionment, with exceptions if a court orders redistricting to comply with the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act.
• This restriction on redistricting would apply to the redistricting that occurs after the November 2024 elections.

Potential Impact

The bill's provisions would fundamentally change how the census counts the population and how that data is used for apportioning House seats and electoral votes. Critics argue this would reduce the political representation of areas with large non-citizen populations, while supporters claim it would ensure districts are drawn based on the citizen population.

The limits on redistricting could also have significant implications for the balance of power in the House of Representatives, potentially locking in district boundaries for a full decade in most cases.

Overall, the "Make It Count Act" represents a major shift in how the census and congressional representation work, with substantial political and demographic consequences depending on one's perspective.