ONWARD

Supreme Court Allows Trial on Census Citizenship Question to Move Forward

The trial can now begin Monday.

In a Friday decision, the Supreme Court allowed lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s citizenship status question on the 2020 census to proceed to trial, Bloomberg reports. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch reportedly dissented from the decision, but Friday’s order did not elaborate on the votes of the other justices. The court also did not expand on an order that “shielded Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from being questioned under oath in advance of the trial.” Advocacy organizations, states, cities, and counties have sued the administration, claiming the citizenship question would discriminate against immigrants and “reduce the accuracy of the census by lessening participation.” They allege that Ross had an improper political motive when he added the question to the census, according to The Washington Post. The Trump administration reportedly claimed that Ross was acting upon “a request by the Justice Department” to help enforce the Voting Rights Act. Trial on the lawsuits could reportedly begin Monday in light of the Supreme Court’s decision.

opinion

PAPERS, PLEASE

2020 Census Citizenship Question Is About Voter Suppression

Jay Michaelson