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The sun sets on lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on December 5, 2020.
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  • New York lost more than 126,000 residents between July 2019 and July 2020, according to preliminary data from the US Census Bureau.
  • It is biggest population drop of any state this year.
  • New York is now likely to lose a House seat because of its population loss, according to an analysis by the Brookings Institution on Tuesday.
  • That would drop New York’s total representatives to 26, giving it fewer representatives than the state of Florida, which is expected to gain two seats to have a total 29, Brookings said.
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The coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a drastic impact on New York’s population, and it could impact the state’s political influence in future elections. 

According to preliminary US Census Bureau data released on Tuesday, more than 126,000 people moved out of New York state between July 2019 and July 2020 – the biggest population drop of any state this year.

New York has been losing residents since 2016, according to the data, but this year was the most significant drop by far. The second biggest year-to-year population drop for the state this decade was between 2018 and 2019, when more than 80,000 people left the state. 

New York’s population drop is likely to lead to its losing a seat in the US House of Representatives, according to an analysis of the census data by the Brookings Institution. 

Every decade, the US goes through a process called “reapportionment,” during which the population of the states are assessed to see whether each individual state should gain, lose, or keep its number of seats in the House of Representatives.

For example, during the last reapportionment in 2010, New York lost two House seats because of its population decline since 2000. 

The Brookings forecast would mean that for the first time in history, New York would have fewer representatives than Florida, The New York Times reported.

New York's seat total is expected to fall to 26, while Florida is expected to gain two more seats to a total of 29. 

Other states expected to gain representatives, according to Brookings, are: Texas (3), Arizona (1), Montana (1), Colorado (1), North Carolina (1), and Oregon (1). 

In addition to New York, Brookings expects nine other states to lose a House seat during the 2020 reapportionment. They are: Alabama, California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Rhode Island. 

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