Massachusetts Retains US House Seats as Population Tops 7M Within the state, preliminary numbers show population growth in the eastern portion of the state around Boston area outpacing the growth in western Massachusetts, the secretary of state said By Steve Leblanc •
Updated on April 26, 2021 at 7:24 pm
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Massachusetts will retain all nine of its U.S. House seats following the release of new Census Bureau data Monday that showed the state s total population topping 7 million for the first time up from 6.5 million in the 2010 census.
Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who oversees the census in Massachusetts, said he was pleased with the count.
Among state lawmakers representing Berkshire County, there is concern their districts will expand further east.
Quote We can expect that our House districts are going to get larger geographically and expand further into Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.â
â State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru
While lawmakers express confidence in their ability to represent the Berkshires no matter how the maps are drawn, adding new communities to a district would dilute the influence of those now in the district. Many Berkshire cities and towns would make up a smaller share of the voting base in future elections.
âEstimates point to our region either losing population or gaining at a pace much slower than eastern Massachusetts,â state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, wrote in an email. âWe wonât know the full impact on Berkshire County and [western Massachusetts] until we see the local level data, but we can expect that our House districts are going to get larger geographi
Among state lawmakers representing Berkshire County, there is concern their districts will expand farther east.
Quote We can expect that our House districts are going to get larger geographically and expand further into Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.â
â State Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru
While lawmakers express confidence in their ability to represent the Berkshires no matter how the maps are drawn, adding new communities to a district would dilute the influence of those now in the district. Many Berkshire cities and towns would make up a smaller share of the voting base in future elections.
âEstimates point to our region either losing population or gaining at a pace much slower than eastern Massachusetts,â state Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru, wrote in an email. âWe wonât know the full impact on Berkshire County and [western Massachusetts] until we see the local level data, but we can expect that our House districts are going to get larger geographic
Massachusetts Retains US House Seats as Population Tops 7M Within the state, preliminary numbers show population growth in the eastern portion of the state around Boston area outpacing the growth in western Massachusetts, the secretary of state said By Steve Leblanc •
Updated 3 hours ago
NBC Universal, Inc.
Massachusetts will retain all nine of its U.S. House seats following the release of new Census Bureau data Monday that showed the state s total population topping 7 million for the first time up from 6.5 million in the 2010 census.
Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who oversees the census in Massachusetts, said he was pleased with the count.