Census

Hofeller evidence filed in Maryland lawsuit challenging census citizenship question.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform neared a contempt vote for the Attorney General and Commerce Secretary, but President Trump is trying to claim executive privilege to slow their progress. As pressure mounts on the Trump cabinet heads to submit to legislative oversight, Congress must demand accountability.

Adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census will threaten its fairness and accuracy. The census means more than just a count of people living in the country. The data collected will be used to make many crucial decisions, ranging from the distribution of federal funds to local communities, to the drawing of congressional districts. For that reason, the outcome of the Census will affect every person residing in the United States.

The advocacy group Common Cause said in court documents submitted in Raleigh on Thursday that the Hofeller files include new evidence showing how North Carolina Republicans misled a federal court to prolong the life of their map of state legislative districts, which had been ruled unconstitutional.The Republicans told the federal court hearing the map case that they would not be able to draw new legislative districts and hold public hearings on them in time for a proposed special election in late 2017 or early 2018. In fact, Common Cause said, Mr. Hofeller’s files show that almost all the work was already done: proposed new boundaries had been drawn for more than 97 percent of the state’s proposed Senate districts and 90 percent of House districts.

On Thursday, Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn said in a release that documents revealed “that the plan to add the citizenship question was hatched by the Republicans’ chief redistricting mastermind to create an electoral advantage for Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.” She said the documents contradict testimony by administration officials that they sought to add the question to benefit Latino voters.

Common Cause, which first obtained the hard drives, said the revelations on them were a wake-up call to supporters of the American system. “Now that the plan has been revealed, it’s important for all of us — the courts, leaders and the people — to stand up for a democracy that incudes every voice,” said Kathay Feng, the group’s national redistricting director.