# Questions about Trump's proposed new Census **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 7, 2025, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823 "2025-08-07T17:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/21 "2025-08-07T19:58:01Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > Just common census. Ceterum censeo democratia esse delendam ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/22 "2025-08-07T20:08:26Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > In areas were the population is highly MAGA, everybody (and their dog!) is a citizen, we’ll require more congressional districts here so they are properly represented. > In areas were the populations is highly anti-MAGA half are illegals and a quarter are non-citizens, we need to eliminate 3/4 of congressional districts in this area This. At any rate, that’s certainly what Trump wants it for; and it’s why he wants it now instead of waiting till 2030. If it waits until 2030, there’s a chance that Republicans will lose their majorities in Congress. > [@enipla](#): > > If ‘brown’ people are not counted, the number of residents will be lower, so they cannot split the district to get another seat. If California and New York somehow lose more seats than Florida and Texas, they’re liable to come out ahead anyway. And if we’re talking about the House, they may be assuming that brownness of particular districts will correlate with voting for Democrats, and that if they can shrink those districts and make them disappear divided up among districts they think will still vote R, then they may expect to gain seats proportionally even in states that lose them. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/23 "2025-08-07T20:14:35Z")
It sounds to me like the new “census” is basically an excuse for going door to door with the demand to “show us your papers”. Its purpose is obvious, and it’s one more step up the ladder of unfettered authoritarianism. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/24 "2025-08-07T20:19:51Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > (I’m ignoring that there are very good reasons to count **everyone** who lives here, legally or not. One of which, of course, is that that’s what the Census is Constitutionally required to do. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/25 "2025-08-07T20:25:18Z")
Why would I not be surprised if the “census” were to be conducted by ICE agents, who are authorized to take into custody for deportation anyone who cannot provide the proper papers? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/26 "2025-08-07T20:57:57Z")
“In those days a decree went out from Trumpus Corruptus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/27 "2025-08-07T21:29:15Z")
Keep in mind that while the official census is every 10 years and is supposed to be _everyone_, the Census Bureau runs intermittent polls to a smaller sample of the population and it asks different questions. Primarily the “American Community Survey” and the “Population Estimates Program.” The ACS asks citizenship questions, SES, housing questions. Title 13 prevents ACS answers from being used in any legal proceedings. So this isn’t new. It’s likely he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/28 "2025-08-07T21:30:39Z")
But can those intermediate censuses and surveys be used for redistricting? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/29 "2025-08-07T21:31:01Z")
This is more to the point. [![](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/044/241/skincover.jpg) ](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/044/241/skincover.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/30 "2025-08-07T21:33:30Z")
Fucker’s going to be out of office (or hopefully, pushing up Miss Daisy) by 2030. Whatever he decrees can be overturned by courts or undone by the next president. This is just a shallow stunt to divert attention from Epstein. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/31 "2025-08-07T21:33:56Z")
I don’t believe so directly, but either federal or state legislature redistricting may happen more often through other means. The maps on the right here show how states treat it. > **[Redistricting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redistricting)** > > In the United States, redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. > The U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 provides for apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on the population of each state. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 required that the number of seats in the chamber be kept at a constant 435, and... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/32 "2025-08-07T21:34:38Z")
Yes, this is new. He wants a full-fledged census to replace and correct the last supposedly defective one. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/33 "2025-08-07T21:41:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Fucker’s going to be out of office (or hopefully, pushing up Miss Daisy) by 2030. Whatever he decrees can be overturned by courts or undone by the next president. This is just a shallow stunt to divert attention from Epstein I used to think that. But many of the changes he (and others in his administration, like RFJ Junior) have made are, more or less, irreversible. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/34 "2025-08-07T21:48:41Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And if we’re talking about the House, they may be assuming that brownness of particular districts will correlate with voting for Democrats, and that if they can shrink those districts and make them disappear divided up among districts they think will still vote R, then they may expect to gain seats proportionally even in states that lose them. It aggravates the hell out of me that these people that are working for us (the USA) spend every waking hour trying to figure out how to game/cheat the system. It appears that that’s - All. They. Do. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/35 "2025-08-07T21:51:07Z")
And they then claim to be defending the right to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/36 "2025-08-07T23:17:44Z")
It’s a true claim. They’re defending the right to vote for the people they believe should be allowed to vote. They’ve said nothing about defending against diluting the vote of citizens they don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/37 "2025-08-08T00:03:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The constitution talks only about counting the number of persons not citizens. So I don’t know how he’s claiming that only the number of citizens should be used to determine congressional representation. Today, he isn’t: [Trump says he’s ordering a new census](https://www.axios.com/2025/08/07/trump-new-census-order-constitution-text) > [@](#): > > People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS During his first term, DJT, and certainly his underlings, talked about making congressional representation proportional to the number of citizens. But his social media post today does not mention citizenship. As has been noted in the thread, self-reporting on citizenship would have inaccuracies. But I suspect that many, possibly most, legal residents would admit it if they were not citizens. By contrast, hardly any undocumented people would admit that on a census form. Another issue is that the definition of undocumented is complicated and/or impossible to define objectively. Citizenship at least is a clear concept. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/38 "2025-08-08T00:40:36Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > But his social media post today does not mention citizenship. Well yeah, that’s a lot of syllables. (I’ll grant Trump the polysyllabic “illegally”, it’s a word he’s been exposed to since his infancy.) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/39 "2025-08-08T01:04:25Z")
I got a paper I’d show any census worker who knocks on my door.\* They would never get to my door. I have a thread about a post card the American Community survey sent. I was able to answer the 5 questions online. Never another word. I’ll not answer any question a person comes to my door and asks. I’ll look at a mailed questionnaire. Cannot say I’ll bother to fill it out and mail it back. Even if PP. Them dang revenuers don’t need to know any extra crap about me. \*that’s as in a joke, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823/40 "2025-08-08T01:19:12Z")
We got that response from people occasionally, and we were sent back over and over and over again, then other workers were sent out over and over and over again, then neighbors were quizzed about every aspect of your life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-about-trumps-proposed-new-census/1021823.md?page=3)