Two of Chief Justice John Roberts’ top priorities are on a collision course as the Supreme Court nears a pivotal decision this week on the Trump administration’s design for the 2020 census. Roberts has repeatedly declared that he wants the public to see the court as a nonpartisan institution, even […] Read more »
People Who Can’t Vote Still Count Politically in America. What if That Changes?
… The Constitution is clear that congressional seats must be apportioned by total population. But states and local governments that would have comprehensive citizenship data in the next redistricting cycle could draw maps built on a very different population base, at a time when the country is growing more diverse, […] Read more »
GOP strategist and census official discussed citizenship question, new documents filed by lawyers suggest
Documents discovered in the files of a deceased Republican redistricting strategist contain further information connecting him to the Trump administration’s quest to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, say civil rights groups challenging the question. Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Asian Americans […] Read more »
2020 Census Could Lead To Worst Undercount Of Black, Latinx People In 30 Years
Challenges threatening the upcoming 2020 census could risk more than 4 million people to be missing from next year’s national head count, according to new projections by the Urban Institute. The nonpartisan think tank found that the danger of an inaccurate census could hit some of the country’s most difficult-to-count […] Read more »
The Supreme Court is deciding a gerrymandering case. Here’s the social science that the justices need to know.
… One key question before the Supreme Court is whether there are standards to detect an extreme partisan gerrymander. During oral arguments this year, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked, “How do you determine whether [a particular plan] is constitutional?” In fact, the five federal courts that have struck down […] Read more »
Deceased G.O.P. Strategist’s Hard Drives Reveal New Details on the Census Citizenship Question
Thomas B. Hofeller achieved near-mythic status in the Republican Party as the Michelangelo of gerrymandering, the architect of partisan political maps that cemented the party’s dominance across the country. But after he died last summer, his estranged daughter discovered hard drives in her father’s home that revealed something else: Mr. […] Read more »