Why Deployed Troop Counts Are A 'Wildcard' In 2020 Census Results
About 97,000 troops who are stationed in the U.S. but were deployed abroad during the census could help shift congressional seats and Electoral College votes to states with military bases or ports.
Tens of thousands of U.S. service members who were temporarily deployed abroad last year could help shift the balance of power in Congress and the Electoral College toward states with military installations after the release of 2020 census results.
Approximately 97,000 troops were serving stints overseas on Census Day — April 1, 2020 — Pentagon spokesperson Lisa Lawrence tells NPR. And for last year's national tally, the Census Bureau followed a new policy that counted those deployed troops as residents of the areas from which they were assigned away.
In 2018, this little-known change to where it tallies certain military employees serving overseas,.
