Common Cause đang thúc giục mọi thành viên của Hạ viện Hoa Kỳ bỏ phiếu “không” khi cái gọi là “Đạo luật đại diện bình đẳng” (HR 7109) dự kiến sẽ được đưa ra thảo luận vào cuối buổi chiều nay. Dự luật được đề xuất sẽ cản trở Cục Thống kê Dân số Hoa Kỳ thực hiện trách nhiệm theo hiến pháp là đếm số người ở Hoa Kỳ mỗi mười năm trong cuộc Thống kê Dân số. Dự luật này cũng phớt lờ Hiến pháp.

Các letter, sent to every Member of the House, emphasizes that Article I, Section 2  of the Constitution clearly states that all U.S. residents must be counted in each decennial Census. The Fourteenth Amendment mandates that apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives be based on “the whole number of persons in each State.”

The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Bảng điểm dân chủ, which we send to our 1.5 million members.

“Americans expect and deserve a fair and accurate Census count free from partisan political abuse like this proposed legislation,” said Keshia Morris Desir, Common Cause Justice & Democracy Program Manager. “The United States Constitution makes it very clear that everyone should be counted in the Census and that those totals must be used for the reapportionment of congressional districts. The addition of a question on citizenship to the census would do real harm to a broad swath of rural and urban communities alike across the nation. When our neighbors aren’t represented and included in all counts, entire communities lose out on funding for Medicaid, economic development, childcare, schools, roads and public transit improvements, home heating assistance for senior citizens, and many more vital services.”

The letter emphasizes that the U.S. Supreme Court and the Justice Department under both Republican and Democratic administrations, have repeatedly confirmed that the Constitution requires an apportionment based on the number of persons living in each state.

To read the full letter, nhấp vào đây.