Trump Admin Loses Appeals Court Battle On Census

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

A federal appeals refused Wednesday to allow the Trump administration to shut down the 2020 census a month ahead of schedule, saying the speedup would reduce public confidence in an accurate population count that is crucial to congressional representation and federal funding.

Over the dissent of a judge appointed by President Trump, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco voted 2-1 to leave intact last week’s order by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of San Jose requiring the census count to continue.

In response to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Census Bureau said in April that census-taking would continue until Oct. 31 to make sure all residents were contacted and counted.

Yesterday a lower court warned that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may face contempt charges for defying the order for the census to continue.