New evidence suggests census citizenship question crafted to help white Republicans

WASHINGTON – Just weeks before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on whether the Trump administration can add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, new evidence emerged Thursday suggesting the question was crafted specifically to give an electoral advantage to white Republicans.

The evidence was found in the files of the prominent Republican redistricting strategist Thomas Hofeller, who died in August. It reveals that Hofeller "played a significant role in orchestrating the addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 Decennial Census in order to create a structural electoral advantage for, in his own words, 'Republicans and non-Hispanic Whites,' " and that Trump administration officials purposely obscured Hofeller's role in court proceedings, lawyers for plaintiffs challenging the question wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman. Furman was one of three federal judges who ruled against the question this year.

http://www.startribune.com/new-evidence-suggests-census-citizenship-question-crafted-to-help-white-republicans/510628062/