Deployments Cost NC a Seat in Congress

North Carolina is losing out on a congressional seat and future tax dollars because so many of its military personnel were deployed during the U.S. Census and counted in population totals for other states, according to an Associated Press review.

The Census counts most troops at the base where they live and work. But for personnel who are deployed overseas, the government tallies them for their home state -- often where the servicemember grew up or has family.

For example, a Soldier based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina could list his home as being in Oklahoma because that's where he was raised. That Soldier would be counted in Oklahoma if he was deployed overseas during the Census.

North Carolina officials estimate more than 40,000 troops were deployed from the state's military bases around the time of the Census one year ago, but only 12,200 of the nation's overseas military personnel listed North Carolina as their home state, according to Department of Defense data provided to AP.

The gap of some 28,000 troops was costly: The state was about 15,000 people shy of getting an extra congressional seat from Minnesota. Those seats are doled out based on population figures in order to ensure fair representation in the U.S. House.