To those saying they'll refuse to answer a Census Citizenship question "on principle"...

[brooklynite]

...you are playing right into the Republicans' hands.

If they choose to redistrict based on "citizens" and you choose not to report yourself as a citizen, you're giving up a share of your political representation.

[el_bryanto]

1. Well said. nt

[ExciteBike66]

2. Depends on the state...

if one lives in a red state, having fewer representatives might be a good thing, right?

[TheBlackAdder]

8. Plus many Red states receive socialist wealth redistribution from Blue states. It would hurt them.

[Phoenix61]

3. I think every one should answer yes.

Why the heck not. They want to be twits. We can all be twits together.

[Phentex]

10. How would they know?

And if they did track someone down, they could always say it was an oversight. I hated answering the census. I wish it asked questions like Do you want more money for public schools?

[hlthe2b]

4. it needs to be fought and fought hard. Call your State AG and tell them you want them to join the

lawsuit. Twelve states to date have and given the amount of Latinos settled in all the major cities--including those in the South, even red states may be adversely impacted.

[ck4829]

5. Do we even have political representation now?

It sure doesn't seem like it. Your esteemed representatives are getting into fights on Twitter with teenagers and failing to condemn far right homicides.

[gratuitous]

6. The census counts all people, not just citizens

So refusing to answer the citizenship question is immaterial to a person's status as a resident of their State.

[Ms. Toad]

13. But the data gathered is, in the aggregate, public.

So if Republicans decide to allocate block grants, HEAP money, etc. to each state based on citizenship, as reflected in the census, this strategy will increase grants to heavily Republican states and decrease it to heavily Democratic ones.

While the Supreme Court has ruled that legislative districts can be drawn based on population, not voters, based on the rights and interests of children, felons, and others who are not eligible to vote. But it did not rule out the possibility of other (voter-based, for example) algorithms for redistricting. I would not put it past the current administration to try, and refusing to answer the citizenship question would result in more seats for heavily Republican areas.

Not a good idea to give them the opportunity.

[blueinredohio]

7. Everyone should just say yes. Are they going to check everyone to prove you're not?

[still_one]

9. Under Title 13 of the U.S. Code, you can be fined up to $100 for refusing to complete a census form

and $500 for answering questions falsely

As to the citizenship question 12 states are suing the government on that, so what the courts decide is uncertain.

What would happen if people leave that question blank, but fill in the rest of the form?

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Constitution says "people", not "citizens"

"Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

Redistricting based on numbers of citizens would be unconstitutional. However, not filling in the entire census, and thus not getting counted at all, would help them.

[Major Nikon]

12. I live in Tarrant County Texas

Reddest of the red counties in Texas. Sounds like a win-win to me.

[lame54]

14. that's their game...

they want smaller head counts for gerrymandering purposes