New York Gov., Andrew Cuomo (D), said Tuesday, that the State will Explore its Legal Options after falling 89 Residents Short of Retaining its 27th Member of the Congressional Delegation, according to released Census Numbers.
“Do I think [the Census] was accurate to within 89? No,” the Governor said at an Event near Binghamton. “And we’re looking at legal options, because when you’re talking about 89, that could be a minor mistake in counting.”
It would Not be the First time New York has raised Questions about a Census Count, but Experience suggests that the Odds of Finding even 89 more Residents might be Long. The possibility is the Fact that the Census was Cut-Short due to Covid-19.
“New York has challenged the Census before over undercounting from the 1970s through the 2000s, and each time, the Supreme Court has rebuffed the state’s efforts,” said New York Law School Senior Fellow Jeff Wice. “Massachusetts and Utah have also challenged the apportionments … and they’ve also had their lawsuits rejected.”
Courts have found that because “Congress has delegated the power to the Commerce Department on how to count people,” Wice said, Enumerators have “a lot of leeway.”
It’s also possible to Dispute Numbers through Administrative Challenges. Then, New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg took that Path a Decade ago but was Unsuccessful.
It might Not be possible to Determine if such a Step is more Plausible until more Detailed Data is Released this Summer.
“[Monday] was really just a prelude, a first act, and we’ll be learning more about the Census Bureau’s metrics,” Wice said. “Once we have the actual data at the block level, then we could see where we were undercounted or where we had other types of problems.”
Cuomo, for his part, Blamed any Possible Undercount on Trump. “You had a lot going on, you had people who were nervous to come forward, you had undocumented people who were nervous to come forward,” the Governor said. “I do believe the federal government had a chilling effect.”
Republicans keep Messaging on Population Loss: The Numbers released, on Monday, showed that New York's Population Increased by 838,000 Residents over the Past Decade, indicating that Population Growth has picked up a little over the past Decade after a Lull of a Half-Century. The State’s Population now is 20,201,249, for the First Time in History.
As of 2/2021, Active Voters: Total: 12,420,821; (D) 6,216,789; (R) 2,745,827, (Other) 3,466,205.
But Republicans have continued to Focus on the Loss of a Congressional Seat, which came about because the State's Accelerating Population Growth still isn’t as High as in the Rest of the Country. In several instances, they’ve suggested that New York’s Population is actually Decreasing.
“We’re losing population here — we need to go the other way,” said Sen. Mario Mattera (R-2nd District, Suffolk) said at a Tuesday News Conference opposing a Democratic Bill to raise Gas Taxes. “My mom’s in Florida. Look what happened in Florida, Florida surpassed us. I think they’re at 22 million people — we’re going the opposite way, we’re losing some folks.”
State Senate Minority Leader, Rob Ortt (R-62nd District, North Tonawanda) was asked why he thinks the State's Population Growth has Picked-Up in recent years.
“When you do some of the things that we’ve done to attract people from all over the world with some of the handouts, some of the programs we offer here in New York, the people who are coming here — they’re not taxpayers, in many cases,” he said. “And we’re losing our future generation of employees in many cases. I know where I live, I know where many of my conference lives, those are the people who have left. Over the past decade, we have lost a million people.”
Democrats condemned That Assessment. “This is an outrageous and offensive statement,” said Senate Democratic Majority Spokesperson, Mike Murphy. “Senator Ortt should be ashamed and should apologize to all New Yorkers for his hate-filled language.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
