Cuomo: 'Looking into legal options' to keep House seat New York lost after 2020 Census report

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he is "looking into legal options" after the recently released U.S. Census Bureau report showed the state was just 86 residents short of keeping its 27 congressional members.

"Do I think [the census] was accurate to within 89? No," the Democratic governor said. "And we’re looking at legal options, because when you’re talking about 89, that could be a minor mistake in counting."  

New York and California, another Democratic stronghold, each lost a seat following the release Monday of the 2020 Census report.

However, finding 89 uncounted residents will be a difficult task, according to Politico. New York has unsuccessfully challenged previous Census results in the Supreme Court.

"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."

Cuomo blamed what he thinks was an undercount on former President Trump and said the federal government had a "chilling effect" on undocumented residents who were nervous to come forward last year and be counted.

Other states that lost House seats include Illinois, Michigan and Ohio, while Texas gained two and Florida, Montana and North Carolina were among states to each gain one seat.