Now that the Trump Administration’s attempted whitewash of their motives for demanding a citizenship question have been exposed, they are scrambling to contrive a new reason. As the documents of GOP gerrymanderer Thomas Hofeller turned over to attorneys in the Common Cause v. Lewis case show, the purpose of the question has always been to advantage "Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites" in redistricting to the detriment of Latinos and other families of color. Combined with recent statements by ICE officials indicating plans to use census information for immigration enforcement, the true motives - anti-Latino, racial animus - driving addition of the citizenship question is increasingly undeniable.

Today’s decision by the government to move forward with printing the 2020 Census forms without the citizenship question is a victory for a fair and accurate 2020 Census count. The Trump administration’s lies about the need for a citizenship question were suspect from the outset but they were laid bare by the facts brought to light in the documents of the GOP’s top mapmaker Thomas Hofeller. Chief Justice Roberts joined by four other justices, rightly stated that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s explanation for adding the question was “contrived.”

“Today’s passage of the bipartisan SAFE Act in the House is a large critically important step toward safeguarding our elections. It is now up to the Senate to pass strong election security legislation. Our election systems have been breached by a hostile foreign power. Those attacks continue to this day and they will not stop during the 2020 elections, so we must be ready."

Statement of Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause President: “’Contrived.’ That’s what the Supreme Court called the Administration’s trumped up explanation for adding the citizenship question on the 2020 Census. In documents that Common Cause received in the North Carolina state challenge, Common Cause v. Lewis, emails and reports created by Thomas Hofeller, the chief Republican redistricting mapdrawer, reveal the real reasons for the citizenship question – to make redistricting 'advantageous to Republicans and Non-Hispanic Whites.' Suspending the citizenship question is a step in the right direction.”  

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in two landmark redistricting cases, Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek. In a 34-page decision written by Justice Roberts, the majority concluded it could not set a constitutional standard against partisan gerrymandering. 

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE) Act (HR 2722) when it goes to a floor vote later this week. A Monday letter to Members emphasized that the critical legislation will help ensure that states and localities get the necessary resources and take key steps to make our election infrastructure resilient in the face of the ongoing attacks by hostile nation state actors.