Updates - N.C. Counts Coalition

Trump Threatens Census Delay After Supreme Court Leaves Citizenship Question Blocked

Jun, 27 2019 - NPR

President Trump says he is looking into delaying the 2020 census, hours after the Supreme Court decided to keep a question about citizenship off the form to be used for the head count.Trump tweeted that he has asked lawyers whether they can "delay the Census, no matter how long, until the United States Supreme Court is given additional information from which it can make a final and decisive decision on this very critical matter."He added: "Can anyone really believe that as a great Country, we are not able [to] ask whether or not someone is a Citizen. Only in America!"

Supreme Court blocks 2020 census citizenship question for now, handing Trump administration a major defeat

Jun, 27 2019 - USA Today

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census Thursday, giving opponents new hope of defeating it. The ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts questioned the rationale for the administration's effort, just as challenging states and immigrant rights groups have done. "The evidence tells a story that does not match the explanation (Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross) gave for his decision," Roberts wrote. "The sole stated reason seems to have been contrived."

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warns of "sharp divisions" in upcoming Supreme Court cases

Jun, 10 2019 - CBS News

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned that hotly anticipated upcoming decisions by the Supreme Court may be split along 5-4 votes. Ginsburg spoke to the judicial conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York on Friday, noting that while only a quarter of the court's decisions so far have been divided, that pattern is likely to change. "Given the number of most-watched cases still unannounced, I cannot predict that the relatively low sharp divisions ratio will hold," Ginsburg said. There are five conservatives and four liberal justices on the Supreme Court, meaning that the conservatives can stick together to create a slim majority in controversial cases.

New Evidence from Common Cause Partisan Gerrymandering Case Reveals Plot to Add Citizenship Question to 2020 Census for Republican and White Redistricting Advantage

May, 30 2019 - Common Cause

Previously undisclosed documents obtained by Common Cause in its North Carolina partisan gerrymandering lawsuit were filed today in the federal action challenging the addition a citizenship question to the 2020 Decennial Census. The documents, which were filed by the private plaintiffs in Department of Commerce v. State of New York, reveal for the first time the secret role played by the longtime Republican redistricting expert, the late Dr. Thomas Hofeller, in orchestrating the addition of the citizenship question and the Justice Department’s Voting Rights Act rationale for it. The documents further show that Dr. Hofeller concluded in a 2015 study that the citizenship question would significantly harm the political power of Latino communities and be “advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites.”

New Report from National Latino Commission on Census 2020 Finds Upcoming Decennial Count in Serious Jeopardy

May, 23 2019 - NALEO

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and the National Latino Commission on Census 2020 today released a new report, “The Community Speaks: A Report of the National Latino Commission on Census 2020”, during a briefing with stakeholders and partners at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The new report from the bipartisan Latino Commission outlines the state of Census 2020 for Latinos and its findings and recommendations for how Congress, the Administration, and the U.S. Census Bureau can act now to save the upcoming decennial count and ensure that the Latino community is fully counted.

NC HB1014

May, 13 2019

On May 6, 2019 the North Carolina General Assembly filed HB1014: The 2020 VOTING DISTRICT VERIFICATION PROGRAM. HB1014 provides guidance on the state’s participation in the United States Census Bureau (USCB) Redistricting Data Program. Under this program, states are able to receive voting district data as a part of the redistricting data file the USCB sends to states following the 2020 Census. This data is critical for redistricting. For example, it helps map drawers identify and avoid splitting voting precincts. In order for states to receive this data they must comply with a set of guidelines set forth in the USCB Redistricting Data Program.

Share this new video & make sure every child counts

May, 2 2019 - NC Child

The population most likely to be left out of the Census count in 2020 is also the one with the most to lose: Young children and their families. Young children of color are even more likely not to be counted. NC Child made this short video to help you and your members get the word out to the families you work with every day.

A Decade Of Implications At Stake, Supreme Court Hears Census Citizenship Question

Apr, 23 2019 - NPR

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a legal battle with lasting implications that could dramatically affect political representation and federal funding over the next decade. The justices are weighing whether to allow the Trump administration to add a question about U.S. citizenship status to forms for the upcoming 2020 census. In multiple lawsuits brought by dozens of states, cities and other groups, three federal judges at U.S. district courts have issued rulings blocking the administration's plans for the question. It asks, "Is this person a citizen of the United States?"

Supreme Court takes up Trump administration’s census citizenship question

Apr, 23 2019 - The Washington Post

The Supreme Court on Tuesday takes up the term’s most important case to the Trump administration, whether it may add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census form sent to every American household. The census hasn’t asked the question of each household since 1950, and three federal district court judges have forbidden the Commerce Department from adding it to the upcoming count. They say Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s rationale for adding the question was pretext, and that he violated what one judge called a “veritable smorgasbord” of federal laws and rules by overriding the advice of career officials who said it would cause an undercount of the nation’s population, required each decade by the Constitution.

6 NC metro areas grew by double-digits since 2010, but only 1 is in the top 10 nationally

Apr, 22 2019 - The News & Observer

Growth in the Triangle continues as the Raleigh metropolitan area — with nearly 1.4 million people in Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties — ranked 10th nationally in percentage growth from 2010 to 2018 with 20.5%. The U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates Thursday for all 3,142 U.S. counties and 390 metropolitan statistical areas as of July 1, 2018. Raleigh’s growth ranked it just behind Orlando, Florida. Six N.C. metropolitan areas increased in population by at least 10 percent from 2010 to 2018: ▪ The Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro (Mecklenburg and Gaston counties and York County, SC), population 2.56 million, ranked 31st nationally with 15.9% growth. ▪ The Wilmington metro area (New Hanover and Pender counties) grew 15.5% and ranked 36th. ▪ The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area (Durham, Orange, Chatham, and Person), now with 575,000 people, ranked 47th with 13.6% growth. ▪ Jacksonville (Onslow), ranked 66th, grew 11.2%. ▪ Burlington (Alamance), ranked 81st, grew 10.1%.