Rep Judy Chu could lose her House Seat after Census

The outspoken chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Rep Judy Chu (D-CA), could lose her congressional seat due to redistricting, reports LAist.

Chu represents District 27 in the San Gabriel Valley, but California’s population has been declining since 2000. For the first time in recent memory, the state could end up losing one of its 53 Congressional seats after the 2020 Census.

The declining population of California, coupled with the undercount expected in the Census, especially among Asian Americans and other people of color, could be costly for the Golden State.

“We could end up having a worse count than other states, given the vulnerable populations that we have here,” said Eric McGhee, a senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, said to KQED.

Justin Levitt, a political scientist from Cal State Long Beach, told LAist he expects that congressional seat would be taken away from Los Angeles County which currently has 13 seats.

Many political analysts tell KQED that seat could be the District 27 seat held by Judy Chu.

She was the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress in 2009. Her district is 40% Asian American.

“I think there are very special issues that pertain to the San Gabriel Valley,” Chu said to KQED. “That’s why it’s important for us to have our own representative and our own voice.”

It’s possible the Voting Rights Act could be used to defend that seat. The Act prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

“You have a variety of very different groups — Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans — each have their significantly different voting patterns,” said Andrew Busch, director of Claremont McKenna’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government.

Busch thinks that diversity could be used against Asian Americans and also says the Voting Rights Act has rarely been used to protect Asians.

District 27 is a fairly new seat drawn up to bring together several predominantly Asian American cities into one district.

“To lose that seat … it would be tragic,” said Heng Lam Foong, program director with advocacy group Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement.

There is still time to get in your census. It takes just a couple of minutes to fill out. Asian Americans Advancing Justice and APIA Vote have set up a bilingual hotline to answer questions about the Census. You can call 844-2020-AAPI between 8:30 AM and 8:30 PM Eastern Time.

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