By MARSHA MERCER
Dozens of New Yorkers are probably kicking themselves
for not filling out their census forms last year.
The Empire State is losing a congressional seat by 89 people.
That’s not a typo.
If the census had counted just 89 more New Yorkers, the
state would have retained its 27 seats in Congress, the Census Bureau reported
this week.
The once-a-decade census may seem an administrative
chore, but it’s in people’s self-interest to participate, even during a
pandemic.
The census determines congressional seats for each
state by population. It also allocates each state’s share of more than $800
billion in federal funds – your tax money – each year for food stamps, healthcare,
housing assistance, job training and other services.
Census numbers are also used to create districts for the
U.S. House and state legislatures, which often draw redistricting maps for
future elections. The bureau will release detailed numbers this summer to guide
redistricting efforts.
So, don’t let anyone tell you it doesn’t matter if you
fill out your census form – or if you vote. Elections also are often won – and
lost -- on the margins.
A handful of states could have changed the outcome of
the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden won the White House because he
flipped several states Donald Trump won in 2016 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan,
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In Arizona, Biden won by just under 10,500 votes out
of nearly 3.4 million votes cast. Another audit, or recount of votes by hand, began
April 23 in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, and is expected to last
until May 14.
No widespread election fraud has been found in Arizona
or anywhere else, and the audit will not change the outcome of the election
there, state officials say. Claims on the Internet that the audit has found
250,000 fraudulent votes are false, according to USA Today factcheckers.
In Georgia, Biden won with about 11,780 more votes
than Trump out of 5 million votes cast. Several recounts there confirmed
Biden’s win.
We’ll never know for sure how many New Yorkers, or
Californians, for that matter, failed to fill out their census forms.
California is losing a congressional seat for the first time. Also losing one
seat each are Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The big census winner is Texas, which is gaining two
House seats. Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon each gain
one seat.
Virginia, where growth slowed over the last decade,
held onto its 11 congressional seats.
Since Republicans need a net gain of only five seats
to take back control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats in
2022, the census is particularly significant this year.
New York gained population in the last decade, but
other states grew at a faster rate, which means the New York delegation will shrink
to 26 House seats.
“It’s obviously not desirable, and the last thing we
want to do is to lose representation in Washington,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
“So it’s not good news for the state.”
Cuomo is weighing a lawsuit to contest the count,
although it’s an uphill fight. New York has sued unsuccessfully in the past over
lost congressional seats.
Cuomo’s critics blame him for not doing more to gin up
participation in the census during the pandemic. He blames the federal
government for a chilling effect on participation.
Hispanic groups believe Hispanics were undercounted in
key states like Arizona, Texas and Florida. They contend then-President Donald
Trump’s efforts to put a question about respondents’ citizenship on the census
discouraged immigrants from participating.
After two dozen states and many cities sued the Census
Bureau and Commerce Department, the administration withdrew the question.
The Census Bureau indicated it was confident
apportionment numbers were correct. Most states’ official population tallies
were within 1 percentage point of independent projections.
It’s too late for the 2020 census, but voters in
Virginia will pick a new governor, members of the House of Delegates, mayors
and other local officials this November. An independent commission is redrawing
state district maps for future elections.
Not only is it in our civic interest to participate in
the census and to vote, it’s in our personal interest. Let your voice be heard.
©2021 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
30
No comments:
Post a Comment