2020 Census Litigation
The Brennan Center for Justice fights in court to ensure the vital census count is done fairly and accurately.
Overview
Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a count — the census — of all the people living in the country. The U.S. Constitution requires the government to count every adult and child, citizens and noncitizens. The census count not only determines how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives but also affects how and where federal, state, and local governments allocate funds for education, social services, infrastructure, and more.
Despite its vital importance, the 2020 Census faced a myriad of risks. These risks included efforts to add an untested citizenship question to the census form, other attempts to produce citizenship data for purposes of removing undocumented persons from the count, and a last-minute rush to speed up counting and data-processing.
The Brennan Center and others mobilized to address these risks through legal action in the federal courts. This litigation resulted in victories that stopped the citizenship question, halted the rush of counting and data-processing operations, and shed light on the Trump administration’s plans to manipulate the census. In addition to participating in these and other cases, we tracked major developments in the key litigation to keep the public informed.
Litigation About the 2020 Census
The Brennan Center litigated cases to extend the timeline for completing the 2020 Census and to expose the Trump administration's plans for the reapportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives. For information on these and other cases, see the case summaries that follow.
Census Timeline
- National Urban League v. Ross (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) (closed)
- Ohio v. Coggins (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio) (closed)
- Alabama v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Eastern Division) (closed)
Executive Order on Citizenship Data
- La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Ross (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland) (closed)
Executive Memorandum on Apportionment Data
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New York v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) (closed)
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New York Immigration Coal. v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) (closed)
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Common Cause v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) (closed)
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City of San Jose v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) (closed)
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California v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) (closed)
- Haitian-Americans United v. Trump (U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts) (closed)
Residency Rule
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Alabama v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama) (closed)
Funding
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NAACP v. Bureau of the Census (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland) (closed)
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Center for Popular Democracy Action v. Bureau of the Census (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) (closed)
Citizenship Question
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U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform v. Garland (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) (closed)
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New York v. United States Dep’t of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) (closed)
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California v. Ross (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) (closed)
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Kravitz v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland) (closed)
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City of San Jose v. Ross (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California) (closed)
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La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Ross (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland) (closed)
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New York Immigration Coal. v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) (closed)
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Electronic Privacy Information Center v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) (closed)
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
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Brennan Center v. United States Dep’t of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) (closed)
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Fair Lines v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)
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Campaign Legal Center v. United States Dep't of Justice (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia)
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NAACP v. United States Dep't of Justice (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York) (closed)
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Arab Am. Inst. v. Office of Mgmt. and Budget (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) (closed)
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NAACP v. United States Dep't of Commerce (U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut) (closed)