Category Archives: census litigation

Yesterday’s Census Hearing: Lingering Effects of the Citizenship Question

January 10, 2020, 3:57 amcensus litigationDan Tokaji

Roll Call: Although the Trump administration dropped a citizenship question from this year’s census, minority groups told the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday that the question’s specter has haunted preparations for a national count that could miss… Continue reading

Election-related options still to come at AALS

January 3, 2020, 4:47 pmcensus litigation, election law and constitutional law, The Voting Wars, theory, votingJustin Levitt

Rick already mentioned a few of the exceptional election-related events at AALS so far. There are still several to come, including my stint tomorrow at 8:30 as least valuable player on a 2020 census panel with Dale Ho, Christina Mora,… Continue reading

“New York Dems Are Redrawing Congressional Districts and It Could Put Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Out of a Job”

January 1, 2020, 3:18 pmcensus litigation, political parties, redistrictingJustin Levitt

The Daily Wire ties the census, redistricting, and (perhaps) a bit of wish fulfillment. They’re not wrong about legislative leadership use of redistricting to enforce party discipline, though. It’ll be interesting to see the extent to which New York’s new … Continue reading

“Census Bureau Finds Latinos, Asians Sensitive to Now-Blocked Citizenship Question”

December 31, 2019, 2:09 pmcensus litigationJustin Levitt

Hansi also covers the Census Bureau’s final report on its 2019 test of placing a citizenship question on the decennial enumeration. (That test, of course, was conducted after Secretary Ross had already decided to include the question.) The final report… Continue reading

“37 quotes that defined American politics in 2019”

December 31, 2019, 2:08 pmcensus litigationJustin Levitt

I have to assume that quote #30 – from the SCOTUS decision on the census’s citizenship question – is just a shameless attempt to get a retweet from @LeahLitman. (Hi, Leah!)

“Fourth Circuit Reinstates Suit Over Census Preparations”

December 23, 2019, 9:41 amcensus litigationRick Hasen

Courthouse News Service: Siding with the NAACP, the Fourth Circuit on Thursday revived claims that the Trump administration is not ready for the 2020 census and is at risk of undercounting minority communities.One of several court challenges involving the… Continue reading

“In 2020 Census, Big Efforts in Some States. In Others, Not So Much.”

December 16, 2019, 8:54 amcensus litigationRick Hasen

NYT: Equally remarkable, however, are the 24 states like Texas that are not spending a penny. The political divide is stark: Seventeen of those 24 are led by Republican governors and legislatures, including population heavyweights like Texas, Florida and Ohio.… Continue reading

“A Census Whodunit: Why Was the Citizenship Question Added?”

December 2, 2019, 7:42 amcensus litigation, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: But five months after the Supreme Court blocked the question, a steady trickle of new disclosures in the case this past month has sharpened questions about whether Republican Party politics drove the effort to add the question to the… Continue reading

“House Committee Sues Barr and Ross Over 2020 Census Documents”

November 26, 2019, 8:37 pmcensus litigationRick Hasen

NYT: The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Tuesday sued William P. Barr, the attorney general, and Wilbur L. Ross Jr., the commerce secretary, for refusing to produce subpoenaed documents regarding President Trump’s failed attempt to add a citizenship question… Continue reading

DOJ Officials in Census Citizenship Case Claim Faulty Memories

November 22, 2019, 5:21 pmcensus litigation, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Hansi Lo Wang: https://twitter.com/hansilowang/status/1198046939390066688

“Nebraska is 1st to share drivers’ records with Census Bureau”

November 21, 2019, 7:03 amcensus litigationRick Hasen

AP: Nebraska is the first state to publicly acknowledge it will share drivers’ license records with the U.S. Census Bureau as the federal agency tries to comply with President Donald Trump’s order to count the number of U.S. citizens.The Associated… Continue reading

DOJ to Pay More than $9 Million in Attorneys Fees in Census Litigation Cases

November 20, 2019, 7:00 amcensus litigationRick Hasen

Wow. Lying is expensive.

“Census counting of prisoners becomes partisan battleground”

November 18, 2019, 7:22 amcensus litigation, felon votingRick Hasen

AP: When the U.S. Census Bureau counts residents of Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods next year, a significant portion of their population will be missing: prisoners.For these predominantly black areas, with incarceration rates among the highest in the nation, the government’s longstanding… Continue reading

Another Hofeller Bombshell: Hofeller Was Communicating with DOJ Officials to Approve Letter Regarding Citizenship Question on the Census, Meaning DOJ Officials Likely Lied

November 14, 2019, 4:44 pmcensus litigation, chicaneryRick Hasen

I’ll update this post with a link to the full filing when I have it. (Update: the document is here.) In the meantime, here is a key tweet from Jonathan Topaz: https://twitter.com/JonathanTopaz/status/1195137404207869952 https://twitter.com/JonathanTopaz/status/1195133896930865152