You will *not* find a citizenship question on the #2020Census, but in the months since federal courts permanently blocked it from this year's forms, the Trump administration's been pushing ahead with a backup plan — amassing government records.
My story:
npr.org/2020/05/20/855…
My story:
npr.org/2020/05/20/855…
2. This story isn’t flashy. It’s down in the weeds of data and government records. That, I’ve learned, is where decisions are often quietly made long before most people realize their full implications. What’s at stake here is the balance of power in the U.S. over the next decade.
3. If you live in the U.S., this is about *your* political power — before you cast a vote & even if you cannot.
You see, there’s so much focus on campaigns and elections right now that what’s often overlooked is we’re getting closer to a once-a-decade hitting of a reset button.
You see, there’s so much focus on campaigns and elections right now that what’s often overlooked is we’re getting closer to a once-a-decade hitting of a reset button.
4. Next year, after detailed #2020Census data are released, the redrawing of voting districts is set to begin across the country.
For the most part, districts have been drawn based on the total number of residents — both citizens *and* noncitizens of all ages — in an area.
For the most part, districts have been drawn based on the total number of residents — both citizens *and* noncitizens of all ages — in an area.
5. One reason why the Trump administration says it’s been so focused on getting citizenship data, detailed down to the level of a census block, is to allow voting districts to be drawn in a different way — based on the number of citizens old enough to vote.
6. Excluding US citizens under 18 & noncitizens from numbers used to redraw voting districts was a strategy put forth by GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller, who concluded using instead the numbers of voting-age citizens would be "advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites."
7. You may be thinking, Is that legal? Can voting districts be drawn based on the number of eligible voters rather than of all residents?
The U.S. Supreme Court left that an open question back in 2016, when Justice #RBG wrote this majority opinion in Evenwel v. Abbott👇
The U.S. Supreme Court left that an open question back in 2016, when Justice #RBG wrote this majority opinion in Evenwel v. Abbott👇
8. “That open question could be one of the big fights of this decade,” redistricting expert @mcpli of the @BrennanCenter tells me.
There is power in data and records, folks.
There is power in data and records, folks.
