Supreme Court Lets Trump Officials End Census Count Early
U.S. census will end over two weeks early, a blow to civil rights groups that said minorities will be undercounted as a result.
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court let President Donald Trump’s administration end the census count more than two weeks early, dealing a blow to civil rights groups that said minorities will be undercounted as a result.
The justices, without explanation, blocked a federal trial court ruling that had required the decennial count to continue through the end of October. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented.
The Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that as of the day before, 99.9% of housing units have been accounted for so far in the 2020 Census, with 33.1% counted by census takers and other field data collection operations, and 66.8% of housing units responding online, by phone or by mail.
The administration said it needed to stop counting now so it could meet a Dec. 31 statutory deadline for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to send a report to the president. The administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene after being rejected by a San Francisco-based federal appeals court.
The Commerce Department said in a press release on Tuesday night that “self-response and field data collection operations for the 2020 Census will conclude” on Thursday. Paper responses must be postmarked and internet responses made by that day, the department added in the release, which did not mention the ruling.
A census undercount would mean that affected groups get less political representation and fewer federal dollars than they otherwise could.
Representatives of the groups that sued said the efforts in court have paid off, with “millions” more Americans counted since a judge in San Jose, California, blocked the Census Bureau from wrapping up early. They said in a statement they will continue to scrutinize the Census Bureau’s actions to ensure “a full, fair and accurate census for all -- including communities of color, immigrants, low-income families, those experiencing homelessness, and other hard-to-reach populations.”
Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Supreme Court is separately considering how to handle Trump’s bid to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count. The justices could say as soon as Friday whether they will hear arguments on Trump’s appeal.
The case acted on by the court is Ross v. National Urban League, 20A62.
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