Big news, Friend: Common Cause is suing the Trump administration to STOP its unlawful attempt to rig the 2020 Census. Now, we’re headed for a high-stakes, election year legal battle. And, what's at stake is whether we can be a nation where every one of us counts.
We simply can’t stay silent while the President attempts to skew how electoral districts are drawn, instill fear and chaos in immigrant communities, and rile up his white supremacist base.
Friend, Trump’s latest attack on the 2020 Census should concern every American -- but I’m confident our new lawsuit can win in court.
You probably saw that President Trump announced a sinister plan to radically change the way we conduct the 2020 Census. How? By editing the data after it’s collected -- penalizing towns and cities where undocumented people are believed to live by giving them less representation in Congress and stripping them of resources. [1]
The first thing you need to know about Trump’s action -- and the reason we are suing -- is that it’s completely and obviously unconstitutional.
Our Constitution expressly forbids the administration from picking and choosing who counts -- to serve their political agenda or for any other reason. The 14th Amendment is unambiguous -- representation depends on “counting the whole number of persons in each state.” [2]
We’re confident Trump’s latest move won’t survive our legal challenge, but this fight is bigger than that. That’s because trying to manipulate census data is just the latest attack in his all-out war against the idea of equal representation.
It all goes back to what Common Cause uncovered in the personal memos of GOP redistricting strategist Thomas Hofeller -- who advocated for counting only voting-age citizens, leaving out children, immigrants, and everyone else. [3]
Why? Take it from Hofeller himself -- this change would specifically advantage “Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites” in redistricting, and cut everyone else out of decisions that affect us all.
We won’t let it happen. And we’re prepared to go to court to make sure of that. This legal fight is absolutely necessary to stop the efforts to rig the census and redistricting -- but taking it on will place an additional strain on our limited resources.
On top of everything we’re doing to ensure a fair 2020 election during a pandemic… and protect voters’ rights to cast their ballots safely and securely… and protect the Postal Service and other cherished institutions that have come under attack… we now must also fight a legal battle, potentially before the Supreme Court, to protect everyone’s right to be counted.
But I’m confident we can pull it off… so long as we can count on Common Cause members like you to step up with the necessary resources. Please chip in to our Emergency Legal Fund today >>
If you want to know how important getting the 2020 Census count right is, just consider that we’re using 2010 Census data right now to allocate COVID-19 tests and PPE. [4]
Our government uses census data in countless ways like this -- with population counts determining how to allocate fire trucks, hospitals, schools, and more.
So, if we aren’t able to stop these threats to a fair and accurate census, we’ll cement a decade of fewer resources, diminished public services, and less of a voice in government for millions of Americans.
And that’s exactly the point -- locking a narrow, xenophobic vision of America that you and I find abhorrent into our very system of government -- and shutting all but a few of us out of the decisions that affect all of us. For the sake of our democracy, we must stop them.
We can strike a MAJOR legal blow against that cynical effort right here and right now. If you’re with us, can I count on your contribution of $3 or more to our Emergency Legal Fund today?
Friend, we can’t stand by while political operatives try to remove people of color – Black people, Latinx people, Asian Americans, and immigrant populations -- from our democracy.
For the sake of our nation’s future -- and the values that you and I share -- we simply must hold our ground in this moment. I’m glad to know you’re on our side.
Thanks for all you do,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/politics/trump-immigrants-census-redistricting.html
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/us/census-citizenship-question-hofeller.html
[3] https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv
[4] https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/04/how-census-data-help-the-nation-respond-to-disasters.html
