Every State, Every Vote Responds to Secretary of Commerce Announcing Census Count Will End Early Despite Federal Judge’s Ruling

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the Census Bureau will end its targeted efforts to count Americans for the decennial Census on October 5, despite a federal court ruling last week that the Trump administration could not end the Census count a month early.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Census Bureau from moving its original October 31 deadline up by a full month.

The Trump administration’s last-minute attempt to truncate the deadline could significantly harm historically undercounted and underfunded communities and result in an inaccurate Census count.

A complete and accurate count is vital to ensuring fair and equal representation and distribution of federal funding for the next decade.

Every State, Every Vote Co-Chair Oregon Gov. Kate Brown released the following statement:

“The Trump administration is yet again trying to sabotage the results of the Census. This is nothing more than another sickening attempt by Republicans to hang on to power. They know that cutting the Census short will undermine the integrity of the count and disproportionately impact communities of color, rural, immigrant, refugee, and tribal communities.

“The decennial Census is the foundation of our democracy and tells the story of who we are and where we are going as a nation. Attempts to erode the Census are attempts to crack apart the bedrock of American values. We need to ensure a fair, accurate, and complete count.”

Read more about how Democratic governors are fighting for an accurate Census count and fair representation for every community at EveryStateEveryVote.com.