World News – United States – US Supreme Court allows Trump to end census early

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US Supreme Court on Tuesday authorized President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce the population count for the U 2020S census earlier than originally planned, a blow to civil rights groups concerned about undercount, especially of racial minorities

Judges suspended a lower court ruling that ordered the decennial population count to continue until October 31 The Census Bureau on August 3 announced it would end data collection of ‘by September 30, a month earlier than originally planned

The Supreme Court order was a loss to municipalities like Los Angeles, counties that include Houston and Seattle, and civil rights groups including the National Urban League, which have filed a lawsuit in justice to obtain the reinstatement of the later delay

The plaintiffs argued that the « rushed » schedule would lead to inaccurate census results and « massive undercoverage of communities of color across the country » They said in an Oct 10 stating that an administration decision Trump would allow him « to stop the 2020 census count, shut down field operations, lay off hundreds of thousands of employees and start processing data the next day »

The Trump administration has said it has changed the schedule to meet a 31st Legislated deadline for forwarding census results to the President

The accuracy of the census count is critical, as it determines how the US House of Representatives and state legislatures design constituencies in the next round of redistribution and guide the federal government in allocating $ 1 5 trillion aid per year

US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, Calif. has repeatedly spoken out against the Census Bureau, saying the accelerated schedule will likely produce inaccurate numbers

Liberal Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the only judge who has publicly expressed her dissent, said the Supreme Court’s action would allow the Census Bureau to « sacrifice precision for the sake of expediency »

The Justice Department, arguing for the Census Bureau, said complaints about the timing should be directed to Congress, which may extend the statutory deadline

« Contrary to what plaintiffs may think, the Bureau is not free to ignore a statutory delay in pursuing some ethereal notion of a better census, » lawyers said of the Ministry of Justice in a judicial file

All quotes have been delayed by at least 15 minutes See here for a full list of exchanges and delays

Supreme Court of the United States, 2020 United States Census, President of Donald Trump, census