Sunday, May 2nd, 2021
On Monday, April 26th, The U.S. Census Bureau released the first high-level results of the 2020 Census. These preliminary results include state-level population totals and the resulting reapportionment of congressional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
As we detailed in a blog post from April of last year, the Decennial Census has major implications for civic representation, federal funding, and policy decisions. Before the count began, New York State was projected to lose a congressional seat, and unfortunately for New Yorkers, this projection came true. New York State fell just 89 people short of keeping its seat, making the loss especially painful and highlighting the importance of responding to the census. New York has now lost at least one congressional seat in the past eight congressional reapportionments.
Between the COVID-19 pandemic and politicized debates about response deadlines and citizenship questions, the 2020 Census was likely one of the most difficult counts in the Bureau’s history. These challenges set the stage for debate over the accuracy of the count. More detailed demographic results, which are the basis for redrawing electoral districts, are due out by September 30th of this year. When this data is released, there will likely be challenges to the results. With the loss of a congressional seat determined by such a small margin, New York State may be one of the challengers.
