Rep. Waters Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Protect Voting Rights & Block Trump Citizenship Question on Census
Rep. Waters Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Protect Voting Rights & Block Trump Citizenship Question on Census
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) issued the following statement on U.S. Department of Commerce v. New York, the Supreme Court decision that blocks the Trump administration's efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census:
"Today marks a historic win for our democracy. In blocking Donald Trump's ability to add a citizenship question to the 2020 United States Census, the Supreme Court has ensured that voting rights for people of color are protected, and that all communities – regardless of race, ethnicity, geographic location, religious views, political affiliation, and country of origin – are fairly represented in our democracy.
"It is no secret that rightwing conservatives in the Trump Republican Party have launched campaigns at the state, local, and federal level to undermine the voting rights and representation of communities – particularly communities of color – whom they believe are more likely to elect Democrats at the ballot box and support progressive policies nationwide. The Trump administration's attempt to add a citizenship question on the 2020 Census is only their latest ploy. The Census is vital to ensuring that our democracy works for all – not some. The Census is conducted every 10 years. The population data collected is used to determine the number of Congressional districts that are drawn in each state, the number of Electoral College votes that are distributed in each presidential election, and the amount of funding that is allocated to each state to pay for programs like Medicaid, school lunches, special education, and highway construction. Despite the advice of Census Bureau experts, the Trump administration attempted to move forward with adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census knowing full well that such a practice would discourage communities of color from participating in the survey, undermine the accuracy of vital government data, and handicap our ability to serve vulnerable communities.
"Furthermore, it is completely absurd and outright illogical that this president and his administration would attempt to use the Voting Rights Act – which was created to ensure that people of color were protected from racist and discriminatory practices at the ballot box – as the rationale for their racist scheme to undermine the Census. Donald Trump has never been, and will never be, interested in protecting voting rights. Any such legal argument should be laughed out of the courtroom. I applaud the Supreme Court for shutting the door on such a ridiculous claim and for exposing Donald Trump and his Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, for the liars that they are by stating in their decision that ‘…unlike a typical case in which an agency may have both stated and unstated reasons for a decision, here the Voting Rights Act enforcement rationale—the sole stated reason—seems to have been contrived. We are presented, in other words, with an explanation for agency action that is incongruent with what the record reveals about the agency's priorities and decision-making process.'
"There is no question that this scheme to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census was cooked up by deplorable Trump, Wilbur Ross, and their white nationalist allies who are desperate to hold on to power and silence communities of color. This president believes he is a dictator who is above the law. He believes that he can reshape our democracy in his own racist and criminal image. Today, the nation's highest court gave him a dose of reality. This is a democracy, and protecting the representation and participation of all communities – including people of color, the poor, and the disadvantaged – is our highest priority."
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