Today New York has 27 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The number of Congressional Districts is determined by the U.S. Census. Unfortunately based on the latest census data, New York State will lose one Congressional seat. The loss of the seat will be by the slimmest of margins. According to press reports, New York came up 89 people short of retaining all 27 seats. Going forward New York will have 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
As this point is it not clear which Congressional District(s) will be eliminated and/or merged with other Districts. Although it is highly likely that one or more of the upstate or southern tier districts will be changed. Redistricting will not occur until later this year or early next year. Nonetheless, the new districts should be in place for the 2022 midterm elections. The changes will also affect the Electoral College totals for the 2024 and 2028 Presidential elections.
Congressional redistricting is always a very controversial political event. It is worth noting that redrawing district boundaries is left up to the New York State legislature, not the U.S. Congress. Expect some highly charged political debate for the remainder of the year.
Note the decline in population does not affect the total number of New York Senate seats. The Constitution requires two U.S. Senators regardless of a state’s population. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are not affected by the decline in population.
To see a list and map of NY Congressional Districts click HERE.
For a good discussion of the issue in Politico click HERE.
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