[EL] Section 2 and the Census

[Michael Hurta]

It seems that the penalty could be assessed by using certain population
estimates - an estimate of CVAP (which the census already calculates) + an
estimate of disenfranchisement (which the Census does not currently
calculate).

That said, if Section 2 requires a citizenship question, it probably
requires at least several other questions in order to ascertain levels of
voting-rights abridgment.

I also imagine if SCOTUS rules in the Administration's favor on the
citizenship question, we will eventually see some serious Section 2
litigation, at least in advance of the 2030 census.
---
Michael Hurta

e-mail: michael.hurta at gmail.com
cell: (713) 504-2025
Twitter: @MichaelHurta


On Thu, Apr 25, 2019 at 12:04 PM Franita Tolson <ftolson at law.usc.edu> wrote:

> When Congress first tried to enforce Section 2 in 1872, they collected
> data on the number of people whose right to vote was abridged or denied in
> an attempt to enforce the penalty.  Congress was unsuccessful in imposing
> the penalty for a number of reasons beyond the scope of this discussion.
> Nonetheless, one could argue that Section 2 requires only that Congress
> collect data on those disenfranchised under state law, since the affected
> individuals who meet the criteria outlined in the provision would be
> subtracted from population used as the basis for determining the allocation
> of representatives.  I don’t think that this requires the census to have a
> citizenship question because Congress does not need to know the total
> number of citizens within the jurisdiction to impose the penalty.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Apr 25, 2019, at 9:41 AM, Josh Blackman <joshblackman at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I welcome any thoughts on this question
>
>
> https://reason.com/2019/04/25/is-the-government-required-to-count-the-number-of-citizens-in-each-state/
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