Census

John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, emphasized that, “The Constitution is crystal clear that the census is to count every resident of the United States, regardless of their citizenship status. Any attempt to discourage participation by non-citizens is an affront to that constitutional purpose.” “For Rhode Islanders, millions of dollars of federal money and political representation for their communities hang in the balance,” Marion said. “It is imperative we make sure every Rhode Islander participates in the census.”

New Common Cause report explains how drawing electoral boundaries based on citizens over age 18 advantages whites and steals representation from people of color. 

“If the justices in Washington, D.C., won’t protect people’s constitutional rights — won’t ensure that all voters have a fair opportunity to participate in our democracy — then the courts of North Carolina will fix the problem themselves,” said Stanton Jones, a chief lawyer in the lawsuit filed by Common Cause, the state Democratic Party and Democratic voters.

“We’ve already seen that these files have been instrumental in exposing lies around the effort to add a citizenship question to the census and around subverting a court’s order to redraw gerrymandered lines,” Kathay Feng, the national redistricting director for the group, said in an interview. “The Hofeller files are important because they’re the only thing that will allow the American people to know the truth behind the efforts to rig redistricting and elections,” she added. “They have to be made public.”