Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, on the one-year anniversary of Justice Anthony Kennedy announcing his retirement, the Supreme Court ruled on cases involving the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census and partisan gerrymandering. The Court struck down the citizenship question, reasoning that the Trump Administration did not give adequate explanation for adding the question, but also ruled that partisan gerrymandering is beyond the reach of the federal courts.
The Constitutionally-mandated Decennial Census determines the allocation of more than $800 billion in federal funding for states and localities each year while also being used to determine how many congressional seats and electoral votes each state receives and how states will redraw local and federal voting districts. The addition of the citizenship question was an attempt by the Trump administration to weaponize the Census to erase immigrants and vulnerable communities from the count and deprive them of political representation and resources.
The Court’s decision on partisan gerrymandering follows a stream of decisions that undermine American democracy, including gutting the Voting Rights Act and allowing the nearly unchecked flow of money into politics with Citizens United. Permitting partisan gerrymandering and map manipulation allows politicians to keep drawing their own district lines and picking their own voters.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
“While striking down the citizenship question from the census is a victory over the Trump administration’s racist and discriminatory policies, the Court’s conservative majority undermined the ability to safeguard election maps and gave states the green light to continue unchecked and blatant partisan gerrymandering. Just as it did in overturning the Voting Rights Act and permitting dark money to corrupt our political system, the Court’s actions today undermine the very foundation of our democracy.
“The Sierra Club will continue to fight with our allies for a democracy that is of, by, and for all people.The House has already passed the For The People Act, which can fix congressional redistricting once and for all. We call on all Senators to support the passage of H.R. 1 immediately.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.