From Keystone Counts (https://www.keystonecounts.org/):
Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the Trump administration’s decision to add the citizenship question was unlawful. His ruling blocks the administration from adding the untested question to the 2020 Census questionnaire.
This is a significant victory!
The Keystone Counts Coalition has been partnering with others in the fight to remove the question since the administration announced last year that the 2020 census would include the controversial question about U.S. citizenship status.
The Census Bureau conducts careful, costly research and testing over a period of many years to develop questions. This late addition was unnecessarily intrusive and untested, and there was bipartisan opposition to adding it in at the last minute because it would disrupt the collection of useful, objective data.
An inaccurate count could cost Pennsylvania over hundreds of millions of dollars, deny communities of their fair share of resources from federal assistance programs, and affect legislative representation for the next decade.
There is no word yet on whether the administration plans to appeal the decision. However, the New York case is just one of many cases before the courts contesting the addition of the citizenship question. California’s lawsuit went to trial last week, and another is scheduled to begin in Maryland on Jan. 22.
This isn’t the end of the issue, of course. Judge Furman’s decision is likely to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.
We will continue to keep you informed of any important actions or news regarding this case or the others. And you can be sure that we will continue to fight to ensure a fair and accurate count for Pennsylvania in the U.S. Census.
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