Supreme Court Gets Census-Case Twist With Evidence of Racial Goals

  • Foes of citizenship query trumpet new indications of motive
  • GOP redistricting expert sought to boost white vote, they say

A demonstrator holds an "Every Person Counts" sign outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2019.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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The Supreme Court was dealt a curveball in its review of Trump administration plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census as new evidence surfaced about the government’s motive.

The evidence shows that a Republican redistricting consultant “played a significant role” in the decision to add the query to the decennial survey for the first time since 1950, according to a letter sent Thursday to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan by the New York Immigrant Coalition. The group is leading an array of parties suing to bar the question.