CENSUS RULES ON COUNTING TROOPS COULD TIP BALANCE IN CONGRESS

The Census Bureau's new system for counting troops deployed abroad could make a difference in states such as North Carolina and Texas, which have sizable military populations and are already poised to gain congressional seats.

Deciding which state gets the last seat in Congress during reapportionment could well come down to a few thousand — or a few hundred — people. And the Census Bureau's new system for counting U.S. troops abroad could make the difference in the count that starts in March.

Federal law mandates the Census Bureau count all U.S. residents, but exactly how the agency counts them can have a major impact on the distribution of about $1.5 trillion in federal funding as well as 435 seats in Congress.

In years past, the census counted all military members who were serving overseas as residents of whatever home state they listed on their Pentagon paperwork. That's changed for the 2020 count: The Census Bureau will distinguish between military members stationed abroad long term — in Germany or Japan, for example — and personnel deployed temporarily, such as a monthslong assignment in Kuwait.

That means a soldier deployed from, say, Fort Bragg, will be counted in North Carolina where the military installation is housed, even if the service member listed Florida as an official residence.

The states where the change could have the largest impact are those with the largest military populations: Texas, California and North Carolina.