Washington, D.C.— The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) released the following statement from Executive Director Sean Rankin following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today in U.S. Department of Commerce v. New York, a multi-state coalition lawsuit led by New York AG Tish James, challenging the Trump Administration’s attempt to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census.
 

Statement from Sean Rankin, Executive Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association:

“Today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is a resounding affirmation that Democratic AGs are the pillars of our democracy. Led by New York AG Tish James, 19 Democratic AGs were part of the multi-state coalition that fought all the way to the Supreme Court to challenge this discriminatory action by the Trump Administration to require all individuals list their citizenship status on the 2020 Census, which would have led to an undercount of the real number of people living in the U.S. and resulted in far-reaching effects that hurt representation, critical funding for individual states, and data used by public and private companies for key decision-making.”

“This is just one milestone on a much longer path to an accurate 2020 Census. Democratic AGs will continue to fight alongside community organizers, partner organizations, and advocates to make sure every person is counted free from intimidation. We will never let discrimination and fear win.”

Additional Background:

In January 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, ruled in favor of New York AG Tish James’ office in a lawsuit to block the Trump Administration from demanding citizenship information in the 2020 Census. The United States Supreme Court heard the case in April 2019. The initial lawsuit was filed in April 2018. New York is leading a coalition that includes 34 states, cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in this case including 19 Democratic AGs. The multistate and city suit was consolidated with a case brought by multiple non-profit groups. California AG Xavier Becerra filed a separate lawsuit challenging the citizenship question on the 2020 Census.