WTF Just Happened Today

Thursday, June 27, 2019

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1/ The Supreme Court blocked the citizenship question from being added to the 2020 census. The court found that while the Department of Commerce had a right to reinstate the question, the administration provided a "contrived" justification for doing so. The Trump administration claimed the citizenship question was necessary to better comply with federal voting rights law, while critics argued it is an attempt to intimidate immigrant households. The Department of Commerce will now have to justify the addition of the question, which raises the question of whether the Trump administration will have enough time or the ability to add it before the forms have to be printed. The administration previously told the court that the questionnaire needed to be printed by the end of June. The Census Bureau found the question would reduce the response rate –especially in immigrant communities – and result in an estimated 6.5 million people not being counted. (CNN / NBC News / New York Times / NPR / Washington Post)

2/ The Supreme Court ruled that federal courts cannot block partisan gerrymandering in a 5-4 decision that fell along partisan lines. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected two constitutional challenges to partisan district mapmaking – one brought by Democrats in North Carolina and another by Republicans in Maryland – writing that "partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts." Districts are drawn nationwide every 10 years, and the next redistricting is scheduled to take place following the 2020 census, which also triggers reapportionment of U.S. House seats among states. Because of the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican party controls most statehouses across the country and, by extension, jurisdiction over the redistricting process. Dissenting Justice Elena Kagan called the decision "tragically wrong." (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / NPR / CNN / Bloomberg / USA Today / CNBC / Associated Press...

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