A federal judge says he wants to reexamine whether a proposed 2020 census citizenship question violates the rights of minorities after reviewing newly discovered documents from a deceased political operative.
U.S. District Judge George Hazel of Maryland ruled Wednesday the plaintiffs have produced enough evidence to warrant reopening the case, even though he already has ruled in their favor on other grounds. The ruling was posted by Talking Points Memo.
Voting rights activists argue newly discovered emails between the late GOP mapmaker Thomas Hofeller and a current Census Bureau official show the citizenship question was intended to discriminate.
“Judge Hazel’s ruling is a confirmation that the evidence we have submitted raises a substantial question as to the intentionally discriminatory actions of this administration,” said Denise Hulett, an attorney with the group MALDEF, which challenged the question, TPM reported.
“The evidence shows an undeniable conspiracy between this administration and others outside the government to jeopardize the accuracy of the census for partisan gain at the expense of Latinos and non citizens of color.”
But the judge’s ability to consider altering his ruling based on the new evidence would depend on a federal appeals court returning it to him.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether the citizenship question should be included.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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