Ceterum censeo democratia esse delendam
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.
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.
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.
One of which, of course, is that that’s what the Census is Constitutionally required to do.
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?
“In those days a decree went out from Trumpus Corruptus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.”
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.
But can those intermediate censuses and surveys be used for redistricting?
This is more to the point.
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 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.
Yes, this is new. He wants a full-fledged census to replace and correct the last supposedly defective one.
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.
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.
And they then claim to be defending the right to vote.
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.
Today, he isn’t:
Trump says he’s ordering a new 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.
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.)
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.
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.